Tablet and a Tome
by AdamineTerra
Summary: Team Shadowgear finds a young woman passed out in the middle of Magnolia's streets. Immediately, the group takes her back to the guild hall to tend to the injuries on her, but little do they know that they are about to enter a new adventure in which danger beckons from an unknown dark guild. What new trouble will be unlocked once the tablet has been translated? OC oriented.
1. Tablet and a Tome

**Hello, readers! Thank you all for taking the time to read my fanfiction. I hope that you love it as much as I do. This is my first fanfiction, so I'm sure there will be flaws. A special thanks goes to grayXlucyFE for commenting on this chapter. Please leave me reviews and opinions. Happy reading!**

* * *

Tablet and a Tome

It was raining when a body passed out onto the streets of Magnolia Town. She was littered with bruises from head to toe and gained another when her face hit a puddle in the street. She was weak. So weak.

There was no way she could make it there in this state, and in the midst of unconsciousness she whispered, "Have… to… away…" But, her body wouldn't move. Days of travel and then the most recent assault on her had been her utter downfall.

She was so close. She knew that what she sought was so close. She knew, oh, she just knew, that she could have made it had she not fallen out. With a snarl on her lips, her face sat in a puddle on the dirty streets. So, this was the end for her. An end with no real beginning… How pathetic.

The darkness overtook her mind even as she clutched the precious bag tighter in her hands.

* * *

"Ah, it's still raining," a blue haired mage observed as she and her team departed from the train station. Her slender hands reached out, collecting raindrops into her palm. "Lucy and I were going to go shopping today, but I guess all this rain won't work out for us."

"I could always run you there faster if the rain is bothering you, Levy," one of her teammates suggested, walking closer to her as if to prove the point.

"Ha. No, Jet. It's fine. Besides, I don't really mind the rain," she explained and looked forward to the soaked streets.

Up ahead, not too far from where they were, the Fairy Tail guild hall would soon be in sight. Levy was about ready to pass out in her room in Fairy Hills with a good book and warm, dry bed sheets.

The latest mission that they had been on had been rather difficult with Jet and Levy's other partner, Droy, having to protect her as she worked on a seal that prevented them from escaping a crumbling tomb.

Luckily, no one had gotten hurt, and Levy had been able to interpret the seal on the barrier, but the rest of the mission had consisted of digging out the archeologists who hadn't been able to escape with them. She still felt like she had tiny bits of rubble in her hair and clothing.

Also, there was something bothering her about that whole mission so much that she didn't even hear Droy talking about something laying in the road before she was already toppling forward to the ground.

Quick as ever, Jet steadied her on her feet, and her hazel eyes gaped at just what she'd tripped on. It was a girl!

Her body was fallen over in the most uncomfortable way possible with half her face in a puddle and the other half covered in bruises. Dark, earthy brown haired covered up half her face, and a camo bandana was slowly slipping out of her hair. She looked as if she'd passed out here and hadn't gotten up in a while.

Immediately, Levy dropped to her knees. "Oh, my gosh," she breathed when a particularly nasty looking cut appeared underneath the girl's thick mane. "Jet, Droy, we have to get this girl to the guild immediately!" she proclaimed, lifting the girl up.

Something began to slip unnoticed off of the young woman's shoulder, and as the trio dashed off to the Fairy Tail headquarters, the rain continued to pelt down on a hunter green backpack.

* * *

When the darkness began to ebb away from her skull, it wasn't the thunder and lightning that had Adamine Terra cracking her eyes open. It was the sound of urgent voices.

"How is she doing?" a female voice questioned.

"Has she woke up?" two males asked in unison.

"N-no. My magic can only do so much for these kinds of injuries. She's better. A lot less bruises, but…" another feminine voice trailed off, and it got Adamine wondering. _Just how bad are my injuries?_

She remembered how she'd gotten them, but they hadn't seemed that bad at the time. She'd ran far to escape the ones who hunted her down. After she'd had the tablet forced upon her, she'd ran as fast as she could. Yes, she'd been attacked multiple times during her escape, but she'd at least made it to Magnolia. She shouldn't have any broken bones. Besides, the worst thing she'd felt on the train had been motion sickness.

Adamine opened up one eye to survey her surroundings. She appeared to be in some sort of infirmary. There was one other cot beside hers before a white sheet served as a divider between patient beds.

A girl that Adamine assumed to be around seventeen years old sat in a chair beside her bed, and there was one more who was focusing healing magic on Adamine's body. These people didn't look like the ones who'd been after her, or more accurately, what she was supposed to be delivering.

She gulped when images of what had happened in the ruins of Holden flashed through her mind. The crumbling tomb. The screaming archeologists who'd gotten trapped behind a barrier. One of the men foisting the most important artifact they'd dug up at her, demanding for her to run. The one young man who'd sacrificed himself in order to get her out with the tablet. Adamine would never forget the smile on his face before he'd been attacked.

Whoever these people were, they definitely weren't the ones who'd been after her. If they had been, they would have left her in the streets after taking her bag. Deciding she was safe, Adam opened up both of her eyes to see two more people standing at the foot of the bed.

They were two men. One was large and the other skinny. Yes, definitely not the men that had attacked the ruins.

"Hey!" the larger one exclaimed, "She's awake!"

The girl sitting beside the bed, the one with lighter blue hair, reached over to clasp Adam's hand. She asked, "Hey, how are you feeling?"

Taken aback by their concern, Adamine had to pause a moment before being able to respond. "U-um. Better. I guess. Sore. Maybe?" she answered. Her eyes darted around, suddenly nervous amongst all these people.

A new voice spoke but not to Adam. Adamine turned to a white feline and felt her jaw go slack when the creature said, "She's good, Wendy. Stop before you hurt yourself." A talking… cat. Was that normal?

Adamine shook her head when the dark blue haired girl gave her a shy smile. "My name's Wendy. It's nice to meet you."

"Adamine," Adam replied simply and looked at the faces of the four people and one cat in the room before catching a glimpse of something. On Wendy's arm was the mark she'd been looking for. Fairy Tail!

A new surge of relief ran through Adamine's body, and she could have howled in delight. She'd made it! She'd made it! Yahoo! She could finally get someone to help her out.

Immediately, she reached to her side where the kept her bag then froze when she only felt air. Her bag! Oh, no! Where was her bag?

"My bag! Oh, no. No. No. No. No. No! Not my bag!" she cried and leaped from the bed to everyone's surprise. Two hands came up and clasped the sides of her skull. "Do you remember seeing a bag? It's a dark green one with books inside of it! I had it with me before I passed out?"

The looks that she got answered her before Adamine even heard an answer. They hadn't seen it. Ack! She could scream! She'd promised to get that tablet to Fairy Tail! She had been supposed to deliver it so someone could translate it for her!

"Are you sure? Maybe, maybe, you saw something that might have fallen out of it? Like, like, a tablet? Ya know, old, stone, weird writing?" No positive response. Adamine felt her heart drop as she flopped down onto the bed with her head in her hands.

She'd promised those archeologists she would get it here for them, but no, she'd gone and lost it. What if those men found it? What if someone else stole it?

Suddenly, a hand touched her back, and Adamine nearly jumped from the surprise contact. "Hey," the lighter blue haired girl comforted, "how about we all go look for it? It's obvious that it's important to you. You haven't been here long, so if someone has it, I bet that we can track it down."

"Yeah," one of the men spoke. "We can tell everyone in the guild about it, and people that are able to can help us search for it."

Adamine smiled, not wanting to reveal her serious doubt that they would find it. So, the strongest guild in Fiore was also one of the kindest. Shocking. Deciding that she would be looking for it herself anyway, Adam explained, "There are very important items in that bag. If someone stole it, they may have only taken what they thought was important. I had an ancient text, a tablet, and all of my money. I doubt that anyone would want the book, and some may look over the tablet. But, both of them are more important than the money. Those two are the only things that I really need back."

"Then, we'll all go look for them with you. I'm Droy, by the way. Nice to meet you."

Adamine gave a nod. So, all of Fairy Tail was going to look for a stranger's backpack. Adam didn't know that people like this even existed.


	2. Beginning the Hunt

Beginning the Hunt

Levy studied the girl sitting on the bed silently. She looked doubtful of their sincerity. Perhaps, it made sense though. She'd just woken up in a room full of complete strangers, and in a guild that Levy assumed the girl only had just heard about.

The master would be here soon, so Levy figured she should wait until Master Makarov came to ask her just why she was passed out in the road. Still, something seemed off. It was that same something that had been bothering her after they'd went to the archeological dig in Holden.

The chain of events was off. The mission she'd set off with Team Shadowgear for had been to interpret runes and script that were inside of the underground temple, but when they'd gotten there, the archeologists were under attack from what appeared to be guild mages.

The entire temple had shaken from a small earthquake and the temple had trapped many people inside. Explosions had begun to attack the exterior of the temple. Only a few archeologists had managed escape the explosions and the entrapment of the tome.

Levy chewed on the inside of her lip. The fact that the temple had been attacked and then finding Adamine in the road was just way too coincidental. Added to that, she had a bag of books and a stone tablet lost. If all her intuition was correct, Adam must have been there at the time of the attack.

Breaking Levy away from her detective work was the entrance of short, white haired Makarov. To Levy's surprise Gajeel was at his side instead of the typical Mira Jane or Erza, and Panther Lily was also strolling in with the two. That was unusual.

Levy's hazel eyes ran over towards Gajeel and instantly met his red gaze. He looked tense, wary. Yeah, this was weird.

Instead of copying Gajeel's expression, Makarov looked to be his optimistic self. He held up a hand towards Adamine who gave him a relatively blank, surprised look. "Yo! It's good to see that you're feeling better. Wendy's been working on you for a while now, and I thought it was time to check up on ya. I'm Makarov, the guild master of Fairy Tail."

"Um. Thanks. I'm Adamine. Y'all can call me Adam though," she responded. Her eyes gazed down to her hand clenching the sheets. She must be really worried about finding that bag of hers.

"Levy had told me she found you passed out in the streets. I want to know why." Well, he certainly wasn't beating around the bush, but why bring Gajeel and Panther Lily down here instead of someone else?

Adamine gulped at the man's sudden question. This was the one she was hiding from, the truth that she hated to admit. But, this was Fairy Tail… She needed their help. If they didn't help her, she didn't know who would. Still, the look that metal head was giving her sent chills down her spine.

"I'm a traveling mage, and occasionally, I do side jobs so I can have travel money. I was on my way to Magnolia when I decided to stop at a dig site in Holden. The archeologists there had discovered some strange runes, and once they'd learned that I was a mage, they'd asked if I would help with their digging and interpretation." She paused, looking to make sure that they were still paying attention. They were.

She was getting to the part she could barely say. After taking in a breath of courage, she continued. "I was there for a few more days than I'd meant to be since we were making good progress. Then, things started to get weird. Some of the artifacts we'd uncovered started to go missing, and the archeologists were getting skeptical of each other. Runes were set. The entire tomb was under attack by masked mages. A friend I'd made rushed me out of there, and I was followed after he..." Adam didn't finish the sentence, and apparently, she didn't have to. Makarov bowed his head in understanding.

Her head whipped up from its downward cast state, and she barked, "That's why I have to get those books and that tablet back! I promised Radar I'd come to Fairy Tail to get help with the translation!"

Makarov nodded his head approvingly. "I'll alert the guild to look for them."

Adamine nodded and quickly described the book, backpack, and tablet to Makarov.

Gajeel studied the woman talking to Makarov. She was hiding something. He could tell it in her voice, smell it in the air around her. He'd been right to come down here after Panther Lily had said Levy had found a girl in the road, but he would never admit that it was out of concern for the blue haired bookworm.

What was even worse for him was the fact that this chick named Adamine or whatever needed help with a book. That was Levy's weakness. Even if he was planning on it, which he wasn't, he wouldn't be able to convince her not to help the new girl. The damned woman was too nice.

He looked over to Levy. She was studying the exchange intently, likely soaking up all the information to help Adamine. Her two lackeys were also consumed by the chick's little story. The two of them were likely too oblivious to even be able to notice the nervous tells in the woman's voice and body language.

Her bottom lip trembled. She kept one hand fisted into the sheets on the bed. Her leg jumped up and down of its own accord. Once she was finished with her explanation, she looked like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, but only slightly. The fact that she didn't finish her last sentence had Gajeel wondering.

Yeah, it was safe to say he definitely didn't trust this girl.

Levy had gotten back at the same time that she'd found this girl lying in the road. They'd both been in the same place at the same time. Besides, if those archeologists already had one mage working for them, why would they have sent Fairy Tail a request for a translator?

Either that girl had been an awful translator, or when the archeologists started to suspect thievery, they had divided into separate groups.

He watched as Levy grabbed Adamine's hand and began to walk with her out the door. They were discussing the guild, and Levy was trying to convince Adamine that Fairy Tail would help her. They even spoke about forming a group together to find it. Which had Gajeel unconsciously walking up to the two.

"Gajeel!" Levy chimed, "would you like to help Adam and me?" She turned her head back to give him one of those innocent smiles that made him grit his teeth nervously.

Instead of beaming at the opportunity like her cheerleaders would, Gajeel snarled, "Why in hell would I want to help with that?" Something kicked his leg, and he glanced to Panther Lily shaking his head at him. Stupid cat.

"Oh, well… That's okay. Lily? Do you want to help? Your Aera might help us out a lot." Levy glanced down to Gajeel's Exceed.

The traitorous cat was nodding at them.

With his hands behind his head and his eyes away from them. Gajeel worked out a snarl, "Fine. I'll go with you."

The beaming smile he was rewarded with almost made his change of heart worthwhile, almost.

"Great! Adam and I will alert the guild. Then, we'll meet you outside. I want to check where we found Adam first." She walked off with that suspicious woman at her side, and Gajeel had to suppress a low growl when Lily started to snicker at him.

"What?" Gajeel barked.

"You're completely oblivious. Aren't you?" Lily replied.

"To what?"

"Oh, nothing."


	3. Rock Dragon Slayer

Rock Dragon Slayer

Adamine suddenly felt increasingly claustrophobic as she entered the main part of the Fairy Tail guild hall. An entire keg was being drained by one lone woman. An ice mage and a fire mage were duking it out while a massive mountain of muscle was barking about being a man. One red haired woman's cake fell on the floor, and she instantly requipped to get revenge on the two brawlers who'd caused the catastrophe. That was only in one third of the excitable guild. The rest was just as chaotic. To typically calm and quiet Adamine, she felt like she'd just entered another planet.

Despite the light conversation that Levy was keeping between them, Adamine gradually felt herself going as rigid as stone. "Adam?" Levy called when she sat down in front of the bar. "Adam? Over here!" She called once more, but the distance between the stairs and the bar felt like an enormous cavern filled with drunken brawlers.

Gulping for courage, Adamine took the last step from the stairway and entered into utter chaos. A sword slashed inches from her face while she tried to make her way towards Levy. She dodged flaming fists and mallets made of ice before having to leap over a gargantuan beast. Compared to what Adamine had seen of the fairies earlier, this was a complete three sixty. Could Adamine be able to trust these people to return her stuff without breaking it first?

A bottle came flying her way. Levy exclaimed for her to look out, but the glass smashed against her skull before she could move out of its path. The entire guild went silent at Levy's surprised squeak then focused on the newcomer with glass and beer in her hair. The most surprising thing of all? There wasn't a cut on her anywhere.

"Dragon slayer magic," someone breathed when they caught sight of Adamine's body. Instead of her flawless pale skin, Adamine now sported a hard grey shell of rock like someone had carved her on the spot.

Putting one stony hand behind her head, Adam gave out a nervous laugh. Geeze. Everyone was staring at her. Damn her instinctive reaction. She should have just let the bottle hit her. This always happened when someone saw her dragon form.

"Hey! Who's the new dragon slayer?" a male called.

"A stone dragon slayer? I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"Dragon slayer? We already have three of them."

"If we keep collecting slayers like this our guild will be unstoppable!"

Levy leaped from the bar stool to walk towards Adam, giving her some amount of physical comfort in front of these gawking eyes. Adam knew that dragon slayers were somewhat of a commodity. She had been the only one she'd known of for years, and apparently this guild had three.

Letting her instinctive shield down, Adamine's body returned to its normal state of worn out dark moss jean shorts, and a leather crop top vest. Luckily enough, Makarov had captured everyone's attention by leaping on the bar and clearing his throat.

"Fairy Tail," he announced, making a blush arise on Adamine's face. Oh, no. He was going to announce her request like this. "We have a special request! Meet Adamine Terra. She's a traveling mage who Fairy Tail has now taken in for protection."

Adamine began to blush so hard she felt like her entire body was a slowly boiling pot of magma as Makarov went through the details of her request. Being attacked by a dark guild. The ruins of Holden. How she needs to find her tablet since it held a very high value and could not be in the hands of this dark guild. Of course, he added some flair so that Adam wouldn't appear as some lame brain chick who'd passed out on the road and lost her backpack. She would have to thank him for that later, but after all was said and done, the guild didn't even appear to be annoyed by the request. They looked happy to help.

Clearing her throat after Makarov's speech, Adam decided it was time to speak up. She couldn't ask these people to help her and not give them a reward. Once everyone's eyes were back on her, she added, "I'm offering a reward of 300,000 jewel to whoever can get me all of my items back in one bundle. Individual items will be 10,000 a piece."

Voices erupted at the reward and the guild became even more excited to help. As a matter of fact, some people were already leaving, thinking that this would be an easy retrieval mission for a piece of scribbled on stone and two tomes.

"I thought you said that your money was in your backpack?" Levy questioned.

"Huh? Oh, no. There was a reason I was coming to Magnolia in the first place. I have an old friend who lives here. He keeps my finances on lockdown for me while I'm out traveling. As a matter of fact, I would expect for him to be around here somewhere. He and his friends are Fairy Tail wizards. I met him when I crossed the border into Fiore from-"

"Adamine!" a familiar voice called, and she turned her head to face the same guy she was talking about. The familiar green hair was the most telltale sign that Freed was the one calling out her name.

Eagerly, she dashed towards the slightly taller male and wrapped two arms around him.

"Are you okay? Is what the master said true?" He returned her embrace with one of his own, but Adamine could feel the underlying sense of tension in her old friend. Apparently, his sense of loyalty and honor hadn't changed in the time they'd been away. He'd no doubt want to assist her.

"Yeah, it's true, but thanks to Levy and the others I should be able to find my stuff quick. As a matter of fact, I need to get doing that now. The sooner I find it, the sooner-"

"You can get out of here," another familiar voice explained, approaching from behind, and Adam turned around to Bickslow. "Yeah, we already know about that."

Before Adam could respond to that comment, Freed broke in, "How about we help you as well? You said you were working with Levy, right?" He glanced over to the script mage. She appeared to be dumbfounded that the three knew each other.

"Like old times, eh?" she retorted and looked towards Levy. She'd been quiet this whole time. Likely trying to figure out how the Thunder God Tribe knew the rock dragon slayer? "Well, if we're going to do it, then we'd better move. The more time we spend here, the further my stuff is getting."

Freed gave a nod and joined in with Levy and Gajeel. For some reason the look the pierced male was giving Adamine seemed to chill her to the core, an odd feeling for a rock dragon slayer. He was skeptical. Adamine could see that. Hell, she could even understand it.

She was a stranger who had suddenly gotten an entire guild to go looking for the items she'd lost. Anyone in their right mind would be suspicious of her activity.

Deciding to attempt to break the tension, Adamine turned towards Levy. "So, where did you find me at?"

* * *

_In the streets of Magnolia_

Levy looked at Adamine curiously. She would have never suspected the young woman to have connections with the Thunder God Tribe, and if she knew them before the seven year gap that happened on Tenrou Island, that meant she would have to be in her early twenties now. Right? Levy wondered if Adam knew that her friends had been frozen for that amount of time.

Maybe not, she seemed to be chatting with them about what exactly had happened during her time in Holden. Compared to the way she'd acted in the guild, Adam was now completely at ease, smiles coming to her face easily. Perhaps, she was shy?

Throwing that curiosity out of her head, Levy decided to listen to what Adamine had to say. Maybe, some details about her own failed mission would be explained.

"So what's this about that tablet you want translated?" Bickslow wondered aloud, tongue hanging out of his mouth of course. His "babies", dolls that he kept souls within due to his Sieth magic, floated around him in their typical fashion.

"When I was in Holden, I had gotten into a brawl." Bickslow gave a sound as if that was to be expected. Really? She acted so shy when Master Makarov introduced her. Levy couldn't imagine her enjoying brawling. "The guy apparently didn't want women like me in his bar. He took a swing at me, and I turned to stone, breaking his knuckles. After deciding that he wasn't going to leave it at that, I had to mop the floor with the poor man. One of the patrons there had been an archeologist. He'd explained to me that there were thieves stealing artifacts from a site he'd been at, and offered to pay me if I protected the artifacts for them. His name was Radar. He was the one who gave me the tablet when the tomb began to go under fire. He told me to find someone who could help me translate the last portion that I'd gotten stumped on. I mostly want the tablet because the people of Holden had worshiped Firmalione, my mother. The tablet was a scripture written about the ancient priests' sacrificial rituals to Firmalione, but the last part isn't in Dragon Script. So, I can't translate it. I was hoping to come to Magnolia to find Freed, and see if he could help me with it. Well, that and the fact that I needed to get some of my money out of my safe."

Levy turned her eyes over to Gajeel. It seemed like Adamine was a dragon slayer like he was, and she was searching for her mother through scripture. Perhaps, he came because he could smell that she was a dragon slayer?

He hadn't spoken a word the whole time they'd left the guild. Instead, all he'd been doing was analyzing everything Adam said. His eyes looked completely distrustful of the rock dragon slayer.

Stopping in front of an apartment, Levy explained, "This is where I found you, Adam. Do you want to split up so we can search in smaller groups? It doesn't make much sense for us to stay in such a large group." Adam stopped in her story telling to give her a nod. "Alright, how about you search with Freed and Bickslow while Gajeel, Lily, and I search the east of town. You haven't seen them in a while. It'll be a good opportunity for you to catch up with each other." _And for me to figure out what's wrong with Gajeel._

Bickslow wrapped an arm around Adamine's shoulders and answered for her. "Of course! That's a great idea! We'd love to take the stoner off your hands." His babies chimed, "Stoner, stoner!" to Adamine's obvious dismay.

After snickering, Levy waved goodbye to Adamine and her new group. One hand grabbed Gajeel's wrist. She led them away in preparation for her soon-to-come questioning.

* * *

As soon as the three were alone, Freed asked, "You haven't aged since we've been gone. You were on Tenrou looking for Zeref. Weren't you?" He had one hand calmly resting on his sword hilt, but the worry inside his eyes was obvious enough.

Taken off guard, Adamine gawked up at Freed. So, he'd known? Did that mean that Laxus and Evergreen knew as well? Wait a second. Where were they anyway? Begrudgingly, Adamine admitted, "Yeah, I was, but that wasn't all that I saw."

On a more cheerful note, she added, "I saw you and Bickslow get beaten down by two weaker fairies. Never thought you were such a ladies man, Freed?"

A light blush began to settle across his skin at the memory of the S-class exams. He made the excuse of, "Th-that was nothing more than us throwing the fight for Cana! She deserved to win after what she'd gone through."

"Uh-huh. Sure. It wasn't a ploy at all. Was it, Bickslow?" She tossed her head over to the snickering mage.

"Nah. Freed's definitely a ladies man."

The green haired mage's flush deepened until Adamine grabbed his arm and drug him down the streets. "Come on. Playtime's over. As happy as I am to see you two goons. I have to find that tablet, so I can repay Radar for what happened."

Bickslow asked, "What did happen to him exactly?"


	4. Guilt

Guilt

Bickslow analyzed the girl standing in front of yet another counter in a shop. Her pale hands were clenched into fists, and the green jewels that kept her powers in control glowed just as feverishly as his Figure Eyes did. With her head bowed, he could hardly see her face. The parts that he could see, like the unsubtle ticking of her jaw, were enough to prove she was in a frenzy of emotions. He hadn't seen her like this since the day he'd met her.

His gloved hand reached out to snatch her bandana from her hair, and a riot of dark caramel spikes and waves went unchecked from beneath that wide strip of camo cloth. "Come on, stoner. Let's regroup at the guild and see if anyone's found anything."

"Yeah. Sounds good," she mumbled, head still down.

Ah, shit. She wasn't even trying to beat the hell out of him from snagging her bandana. He glanced down to the emerald orb on a leather choker around her throat. It was still madly glowing. For her to be this worked up and not making attempts on his life… Oh, damn.

It really was like the first time he'd met her.

* * *

_Twelve years ago_

_Lost stretch of a forested road_

"We're lost," Evergreen proclaimed, her black flats floating above the dirt path.

"We're not lost. We're just taking a detour," Freed defended. In his hands was a map, an upside down map. He kept tilting it this way and that before finally putting his finger of a portion of it. "See! Look. We're right here! If we just keep following this path then we'll be at Akane Beach in no time."

Laxus cast the two bickering mages a particularly droll glance before turning his music up. With his hands behind his head, he ignoring them all. It was obvious he didn't care whether they were lost or not.

Bickslow wasn't concerned either. His totem babies hovered cheerfully around him. Besides, if they stayed lost, then maybe the creature that had been terrorizing the villages nearby would sniff them out. It would save them having to find it on their own.

While instigating the argument between Evergreen and Freed, he couldn't have been more at ease until something caught his attention. "Oi! What's that over there?" he stated abruptly, catching the bickering fairies off guard.

Ever's hands clapped together as she chimed, "A little old lady! She can tell us where we need to go to get out of this place!" Using her wings, she eagerly flew over to the woman in the tattered rags. "Ma'am, hello. We need your help to find our way out of this forest. Could you please tell us where to-" Her gloved hands covered her mouth, and she halted in her tracks.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Freed questioned, stepping beside Evergreen only to gawk the same way she was doing.

Alright, now he was curious. Stepping forward, Bickslow put his red gaze to the young girl. Her body was supported by a staff, but it was coated in bruises and claw marks. A stream of blood trickled down the side of her face. Her green eyes were puffy and swollen from tears streaming down her face, but instead of baring a hopeless expression, her teeth were gritted down. Little fangs gleamed in the setting sunlight.

"Hey! What's everyone staring at," Laxus asked, completely oblivious to the woman and ten steps ahead of them. He walked back to them.

The girl's body leaned too hard against her crutch. Her entire form went toppling over until Laxus quickly snagged her from hitting the dirt. "What the hell?" he breathed when the hood the girl was wearing fell from her face.

After recovering from his initial shock, he tossed her girl like a sack over his shoulder. "We need to get her to a village quick. Looks like her leg's broke."

* * *

Freed's voice broke Bickslow from his reverie, and he looked up to where Adamine was standing outside the shop. Her hands were shoved into her pockets. Green eyes were looking stubbornly into the sky. With the firm set of her jaw, she looked like she was about to go off any second.

"I'm starting to assume that this Radar died trying to get her out of that tomb. I haven't seen her so worked up since the day her Exceed was killed outside Akane," Freed mentioned. His eyes went over to Adamine. "Perhaps, she'll feel better if we get her to the guild."

Giving a nod, the two men walked out of the shop.

Once they'd met back up with Adamine in the streets, Bickslow put his hand back on her head. He mentioned, "Come on, stoner. I feel bad messing with you when you're like this. Lighten up. We'll find your stuff."

"Mm. Sure. Whatever."

* * *

_Guild Hall_

Adamine looked at her reflection in the glass she had a hand wrapped around. Levy had yet to make it back. Adam was really hoping that the kind girl had been able to find something, and if that Iron Dragon Slayer was with her, she was sure Levy wouldn't get into too much trouble if _that_ guild had found Adam's bag.

Still, she kept having flashbacks of the ruins. The ominous words Radar had left her with were what bothered her the most. "If this tablet got into the hands of the wrong people, there's no telling what destruction they could create."

Radar could have been saved. He didn't have to rush her out of the tomb. He didn't have to die protecting her. She was made out of adamantine for crying out loud. Had she just moved in front of the blow, she could have turned herself into stone and shielded him from that man's sword.

Her head hung lower until she heard the screech of a barstool moving across the wooden floor. From the corner of her eye, she saw Freed on her right and Bickslow on her left. Damn it. She didn't deserve their comfort right now.

Radar had died because she'd failed to protect him. He hadn't even been a mage for crying out loud! He had no way to protect himself from that sword requip, but he'd pushed her through the tunnel with that accursed tablet in her hands.

She should have thrown it at him then turned around, even in that tiny tunnel, but he had insisted. He'd said, "Adam, your mother was the reason this tablet was made. You should be the one to translate it out of any of us." He'd cast her a smile before he'd blocked the tunnel with a fallen rock.

Taking a particularly masculine drink of ale, Adamine slammed the wooden glass down on the counter. "I'm going back to Holden!" she proclaimed. Her body stood up on drunken legs, teetering herself around until she was facing the door. She gave a slight hiccup before letting go of the support of the counter.

Just when she began to make her way, Freed latched onto one arm and Bickslow snatched the other. In unison they barked, "The hell you are!"

"_Hiccup* _S'not up to ya," she slurred, pulling them with a force that had people turning their attention to the sudden uproar at the bar. Her biceps flexed, and she gave a particularly punishing shove that had Freed wincing from a popping in his shoulder joint.

"Aw. Yeah, it is. You aren't going anywhere in this state. Besides, Levy, Lily, and Gajeel haven't made it back yet. They may be on a lead right now," Freed snapped, pulling the rock dragon slayer back with all his might.

She gave another drunken yank, baring her fangs at the friends she'd had for years. "Ain't gunna sit back! I need that piece a rock now! Guild's got it by now. Know it."

"You don't know shit, stoner. Sit back down before I make you!" Bickslow flung her back until she hung only by his and Freed's grips. "Laxus will be here tomorrow, so will Evergreen. We can all go to Holden then if it'll get you to sit down!"

"S'not gunna happen. Want me ta stay that badly? Yer gunna have ta fight me for it," she growled. Her body went to adamantine underneath his grip, and she wrenched fully from the two of them to face her friends with fangs bared.

Freed shook his head when he saw Bickslow slipping his slotted visor upwards. The entire guild gasped at the surprise, but Adamine didn't notice it until it was too late. "Figure eyes!" he commanded, and Adamine immediately halted. A glassy film covered her eyes at the possession magic, and she froze to Bickslow's will.

"Do you really think you had to go that far?" Freed questioned. He looked from Bickslow to Adamine. The girl was almost zombified. She stood like a doll waiting to be moved by its master.

Bickslow cast Freed a glower. "Do you think she would have stayed here if I didn't?" He turned towards Adamine. Despite his hold on her, she was fighting him mentally. With a glower he commanded Adamine to start walking. "I'm taking the stoner home, Freed. If you hear anything from Gajeel or Levy, tell me." He stepped through the threshold with his babies chiming, "Hear anything!"

* * *

Gajeel ground his teeth at the men in front of them. He'd known that rock chick had been up to something when she'd gotten the guild to look for her tablet. Curse the bitch to hell if she wasn't the reason he and Levy were chained up right now.

A man reached towards Levy's shivering form on the floor. He snatched the rock chick's backpack and cast the two of them a wicked smile. "Ah, I see you must have met my dear friend, Adamine. I hadn't expected her to have delivered an iron dragon slayer and a script mage to me as well."

He opened up the messenger bag styled backpack with a grin. "In perfect condition. I really must commend Adamine for her treatment of my guild's artifacts. She really is such a sweet girl."

Gajeel was going to kill her as soon as he got free of these chains. Just you wait.


	5. Memories

Memories

Bickslow really was reliving the past now that he looked down at Adamine laying in his bed. He'd released her from his spell only moments ago after commanding her to sleep, and her curvy frame was silhouetted by his deep, blue bed sheets. She cradled one black and white pinstriped pillow with both her arms. Her face was buried inside of it like she was going to cry.

Weird chick. For someone who could give him a run for his money, she was too bloody sentimental. If he hadn't used his magic on her, she would already be halfway to Holden right now and barfing on the train while he was laid out with the stony imprint of her fist in his face.

He snarled in her direction before taking off his helmet. Stupid girl was always getting him into weird ass situations.

* * *

_A village outside Akane_

The old woman who turned out to be a sixteen year old girl laid staring up at him from the bed. "K-knight?" she breathed in reference to his attire, and he had to crack a grin. She was staring at him like he was some kind of hero or something, and he wasn't even the one who'd carried her here.

"Damn, girl. If you want me in that bed with you, you could just ask," he commented, pleased by the hot red flush running from her cleavage to her forehead. He'd bet that underneath all that wild hair the top of her skull was rosy red as well.

Instead of hiding behind the blankets or screaming that he was some kind of pervert, she snarled at him with those strange fangs of hers. Calmly, she stepped from the bed in her tiny tank top and even tinier pair of shorts to walk in front of him.

His attention was completely focused on her face, oblivious to the hand turning to stone at her side. "Now what are ya going to do?" he asked, suggestive themes dancing along his extended tongue.

Snagging a hold of his tongue, she pressed down with a stony fingernail until it bled. "Keep your tongue and your perviness to yourself unless you want more than just your tongue pierced."

* * *

Bickslow still got a kick out of that memory, and he flashed his own teeth at it right now. The sharp howl of pain he'd exhaled that morning had gotten everyone to gather in the room to witness his humiliation. The rest of the journey with her, he'd kept his tongue in his mouth but didn't refrain from teasing her, his babies joining in like a mocking echo.

Right now they sat turned away from the bed and at rest. Although the totems were spirits that dwelled inside the wooden dolls, they and Bickslow shared magic power to keep them awake. The five little guys were stacked side by side, waiting to be woken from their slumber.

It was weird really. The fact that his babies approved of Adamine's presence on a more intimate level… Quickly, he shook that thought out of his head.

Adam was a traveling mage. In all the times that she'd been in Magnolia to visit Bickslow and Freed in their shared apartment, she'd never been inclined to join despite the Thunder God Tribe's encouragement.

She would visit outside the guild for a day or so then go back on her many quests. One was hunting down and taking revenge on Zeref for the demise of her parents. The next was finding Firmalione, her dragon mother/tutor.

He unconsciously moved to touch the wildly spiked and waved caramel hair on her head. It was smooth but would go as solid as her skin when she used her defensive dragon slayer magic. Ever always loved to battle with Adam because of that. If she tried to use her stone eyes, it would fail miserably since Adam was stoned already.

Ha. Stoned. That had been where Bickslow had come up with her nickname.

Adamine hadn't even complained about it. She just went with it, calling him by her own nickname: Tongue Boy. The name itself was just as perverted sounding as he was. It suited him perfectly.

He ran his hands through her hair once more and sat his helmet down on his dresser before pulling out a pair of pinstriped pajama bottoms. She was knocked out cold. Surely, it wouldn't be weird if he changed right here.

Strangely nervous with the prospect of being caught in the slightest, Bickslow took the cape that draped around his shoulders off before maneuvering to the hallway. He'd never been nervous naked in the presence of other women. He'd been with a few, uncaring of what the thought about him, but with Adamine… She made him feel weird.

After closing the door behind him, Bickslow turned down the hall. He and Freed shared a rather spacious two bedroom and two bathroom apartment. Since Freed had been the one to purchase it, offering to split the rent in half with Bickslow, Freed had the master suite and also the master bathroom. The house was a weird combination of jester in a knight's clothing/ scholar with a sword, so it made for a curious decorative atmosphere that most people would find eccentric.

Once he'd found his way to the bathroom, he decided to step into a shower instead of just changing attire. Adamine was out cold. He doubted she'd try to get a leg up on him and run off to Holden just yet. At least, he hoped that was the case.

* * *

Freed still sat at the bar in Fairy Tail while going over books on the Ruins of Holden. Since Adamine often ran off to find books about dragons and Zeref, it would make sense that she would want the tomes that were undoubtedly sealed away in her bag, but he wasn't interested in that right now. Currently, he was searching for the tablet he'd been described.

Although it was dark outside and members of the guild were leaving to go home, Freed searched the first few pages in the book's Table of Contents before finally coming up with something he thought might be helpful.

_Tablet of Earth_

_Guide of Ancient Priests' Ceremonial Sacrifices_

_The Tablet of Earth is a tablet rumored to be real due to finding similar ones in ruins across Fiore and other kingdoms. There is the Tablet of Fire, the Tablet of Wind, and the Tablet of Darkness. These represent the civilizations who worshipped dragons as creators of the world and its many elements._

Freed skimmed the rest of the introduction. He needed something more. Adamine wasn't likely to assist in archeological searches on a whim. She'd been let down enough times to be skeptical of hypothesis and tended to do her own research away from prying eyes of scholars looking for fame.

She also, though kind as she was, wasn't the type to just agree to help someone because she'd impressed them. Adamine wasn't a collector of wealth. She wasn't a bounty hunter. She was just a lost girl from another kingdom.

He remembered a time when they were discussing her past. She had been reluctant to say anything. Freed and the rest of the Thunder God Tribe had no clue as to why she traveled from her kingdom to another one. Just like she had gotten the master to tell the guild, Adamine was always being hunted down by guilds. There were people who were always after her, but she'd made it from the guilds in her unnamed kingdom to the ones in Fiore.

* * *

"Where are you from?" Freed asked the girl who stood with her arms crossed. She looked at the howling Bickslow with pride on her face, and no one could exactly blame her. In fact, once everyone had entered the room to find him holding his tongue while his babies exclaimed, "Pain, Pain!" they had all burst into laughter.

After she'd registered his question, she'd gone stiff. "It doesn't matter. Thank you for helping me, but I'm fine enough to leave now. I have to get revenge on that beast for taking the life of Pearl."

Evergreen had rolled her eyes at the girl's behavior. She'd pointed out, "If you're in such good shape, then why can't you put your foot on the ground?"

She had cast Ever a hate filled look before daring a glance to the window. "Don't even think about it. I'd hate to have to carry you back in here again," Laxus snapped.

"Yeah, we should go downstairs and talk about why you were leaving the village instead of going to it," Freed added.

"There are people looking for me. I don't have time to chitchat. If you were smart, you'd leave me alone."

* * *

She had single handedly defeated Eisenwald back when it was in working order. Then, she'd taken on assassins that had been on her trail when she'd agreed to join Laxus and his tribe back to Magnolia.

Her strength had awed the entire team, and they'd asked her to join them before she'd left. Yet, she had denied them, saying that she couldn't endanger anyone by staying with them for too long. It had made Freed suspicious since she seemed to be carefree, putting Bickslow in his place time after time, but they had let her go without argument. It was strange that now of all times she would be back at the guild she had never agreed to join. Even stranger was that the guilds on her trail were obviously hotter than they had been.

He drummed his fingertips against the wooden counter until Mira Jane mentioned, "You've been staring at that book for five hours, Freed. It's three in the morning. Are you worried about the new girl?"

"I-" He was about to speak until the guild doors burst open. Panther Lily stood in his large, original state of a muscular panther with a jagged scar down the side of his face. He appeared to be panting as he stepped into the guild. With a poof he turned back into his chibi self then continued his run towards Freed.

"Where is that rock dragon slayer?" he demanded, all seething fury even in this small state.

"Adamine? She's at our apartment. Why?"

"She lured Gajeel and Levy into a trap," he snarled. "I was only able to escape because Levy stuffed me in her purse, and I got away to get the girl! Where is she?"

Freed stared in shock at the tiny Exceed. Apparently, Adamine was going to Holden tonight.


	6. On the Run

On the Run

The sound of running water met Adamine's ears when she finally felt consciousness coming back to her. Instead of seeing the windows light up with early morning sunrise, Adamine saw the black curtains pulled back to reveal a brilliant night sky.

She could see all kinds of constellations from her position on the bed. Wait a second. She glanced down. How had she gotten into a bed? Not only that but why was it not the bed in the guild infirmary?

This bed had navy blue and white pinstripes running down it. There was also a certain knight's helmet sitting on the bedside table. Her eyes nearly popped out of her skull when she noticed five totem dolls all in a row on a dark dresser. Oh, no. No. No. No. No. Nope. It had better not be. That pervert had better not have brought her back to his house! How did she even get here?

Immediately, she lunged from the bed only to get her foot caught in the sheets. Damn it! Curse her klutziness. She was a rock for crying out loud! Rocks don't jump. They roll! Damn you physics!

With her nose bruised from the impact of her face to the wooden floors, Adamine turned to loosen her foot from what she hoped was absolutely not Bickslow's bed. _Awkward. Awkward. Awkward!_Her mind screamed that word in the same chiming voice as Bickslow's hovering dolls. _Oh, no! Was he in her head?_

The sound of water turned off, and Adam tried to kick her foot out in a frenzy. Oh, he had better not be here. That had better not be him coming in here. Footsteps caught her dragon senses, and just when she got free of the sheet, she dashed right into somebody's bare chest.

Her face had to have turned fifty shades of red because a familiar masculine voice teased, "If you missed me so much, you could have met me in the shower before I was done." _No! It was him!_

Her palms were squished between their bodies, and she dared not to look up. She did not want to face him right now. She didn't want to admit that the smell of his bare skin fresh out of the shower was making her usual stone still gut do summersaults, and curse it all if she couldn't find some kind of sarcastic comment to bite back at him.

Giving an audible gulp, she pushed on him. "I… uh…" Her eyes looked to his face. It was completely bare of the helmet and visor he normally wore, and it was the first time she'd seen his face. "Red eyes?" she muttered against her will.

"Huh? Yeah. What about it?" He tilted his head at her, and instead of pushing her off awkwardly as she guessed he would have, Bickslow kept two hands on her hips.

She tried to ignore that fact when she mentioned. "I don't know. I just always expected something different." Without meaning to, she touched the marking on his face.

"Is there a problem with my face?" He gazed down at her, making the touch seem somewhat more intimate than it really was. The fact that his voice held some odd concern to it made her wonder if she'd offended him.

Adamine narrowed her eyes at him like the question was ludicrous. She stated, "No. It's just not what I expected. Well, everything except for this." Her hands reached up to his wildly spiked hair. It was partially damp but sprung out with a mind of its own. "I always knew you'd have spikey hair. It just suited you."

"Really now?" he taunted, ruffling Adam's feathers just the slightest bit.

What was getting her all hot and flustered more than anything, though, was their close proximity. Bickslow sported nothing but a pair of striped pajama pants. His skin was flush with hers. The calloused hands at her hips were making her hands tremble slightly.

* * *

Bickslow didn't know whether this was the opportunity of a lifetime or a disaster waiting to happen as Adamine looked up at him. She studied him with a speculative eye, like he was some kind of ore for her to prospect. Even though his heart was thundering in case she thought him to be fool's gold, he was hoping she'd think of him as something more.

He felt himself leaning down towards her pale pink lips until the sound of a door slamming made him freeze dead in his tracks.

"Bickslow, Adamine, there's been a huge misunderstanding! Levy and Gajeel have been…" Freed's words faded out when he caught sight of what was happening in Bickslow's bedroom.

Leaping away from each other, Bickslow and Adamine yelled in unison, "It's not what it looks like! I swear!"

Their eyes met with each other briefly before looking forward to a completely taken aback Freed. He looked like he'd just seen a ghost. Then again, Bickslow noted, so did Adam.

Freed, being the ever rational man he was, closed his eyes like he was looking for patience. "It doesn't matter. Get dressed, Bickslow. We have to get Adamine out of here now! Panther Lily is trying to convince the guild that she's set them up. I'll explain the rest on the way there, but we have to get Adam out of here before they show up to question her!"

He tossed Adamine a shocked look. She appeared to be frozen solid. There was no way that she would trick members of Fairy Tail no matter what the situation was. She'd said it herself years ago that if she was going to join a guild that it would be Fairy Tail. He couldn't imagine it. By the look on her face, she couldn't either.

Dashing towards the bathroom, he donned his armor then snatched his visor off the end table. He was dressed in a matter of minutes while Freed kept guard over the door.

Once they were lunging themselves out the window, Adamine was quickly running on foot below them. Damn. Bickslow had forgotten that she couldn't fly in any way. He had his babies to support him, and Freed could make up a set of wings using his magic.

Still, she kept up with them well. Those clumsy feet of hers hadn't tripped over anything yet. He turned to Freed. "Why does the guild think that Adamine's a traitor? They don't even know her."

"That's what makes what Panther Lily is claiming to be believable. He said that Levy and Gajeel had gotten captured by a dark guild that called themselves Shadow Hunter. He also said that their leader claimed that Adam was helping them. I'll explain more once we're on the train, but right now Makarov has sent out some guild members to bring Adamine in for questioning. The train leaves in ten minutes, so we'd better hurry!" Freed glanced to where Adam was gazing up at them in shock.

Her jaw was slack at the accusation, but she followed them accordingly. She hadn't frozen up like she typically did when she was taken off guard. That was good. If she didn't trip over her feet, she would be fine.

* * *

Adamine sat down on the train. Her body was panting heavily from the exertion of having to run three miles in ten minutes, but she wasn't really concerned about that. Right now, she had two things on her mind: one was motion sickness and two was why the guild thought she was a traitor.

"What do you mean getting to Holden takes two days?" Freed exclaimed to the conductor of the train. "We have to get there now!"

"I-I'm sorry, but there's no way. Getting to the village is hard enough since it's in the middle of nowhere. Then, the ruins are a three hour hike through the forest. You'll spend most of the first day going from train stop to train stop until you get to Clover Town. From there you'll take a road towards the border. I'm sorry, but until railway construction is finished, the trip will remain two days long."

Freed finally returned with a map in his hands, and a look of utter confusion settled deeply across his brow. He couldn't even ask the question because Adamine explained, "Teleportation magic. Kalin is a master of long distance teleportation."

"Kalin?" Bickslow wondered. "Who's that?"

He watched as Adamine uncomfortably shifted in her seat. The train was about to depart. She wouldn't get another chance to explain until the next stop. "Kalin is the master of Shadow Hunter. He uses long distance teleportation and has a second in command who is the best of trackers. Hence the name Shadow Hunter. It is how they find me all the time."

"Find you all the time? You must be talking about the guild who attacked you the first time we met," Freed analyzed. Of course, he would remember. Shadow Hunter had finally gotten their hands on her. She was trapped in a choke hold she wouldn't soon forget, but Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe had decided to rescue her for some reason. Adamine had felt in their debt ever since.

"Yeah. They aren't a dark guild from Fiore though. They're from Lancet."

"Lancet! That's on a whole other continent. Why would a guild halfway across the world want to collect a rock dragon slayer?"

She looked down at the gladiator shoes she wore. The leather straps were dirty and worn. They'd lasted her for so long. She'd been on the run for so long. A secret she'd been hiding from Fiore for long enough finally slipped through her lips. "It's because I'm-" The train began to move, saving her from the explanation but giving her a nasty case of motion sickness.

She turned as green as Freed's hair and slapped her hands over her mouth before dashing towards the bathroom. She had a full day of this to look forward to. Great. Just freaking peachy.


	7. Reluctant Suspicion

Reluctant Suspicion

A shaft of light burst into the cell Levy and Gajeel were locked inside. The both of them closed their eyes as tight as they could, but the abrupt dilation of their pupils still stung. "Good morning, fairies!" a hooded man greeted. Cutting the man a sharp snarl, Gajeel bared his fangs towards the creep who'd named himself Kalin.

Though they had never seen his face, his voice sounded strangely familiar to Levy. She couldn't quite place it, but she knew that she'd heard him before. He took a step closer, and Levy's body was shielded as much as possible by Gajeel.

"Aw. Come on. Don't be that way. I just need to see your girlfriend for a short moment," Kalin explained and got down to the level of his prisoners.

One hand came up on Gajeel's back, trying to soothe the snarling slayer. "It's okay, Gajeel. Let's just see what he wants." She looked over to Kalin.

His lips were turned into a sadistic smile. "Yeah, Dragon Slayer. I only need to talk to your girlfriend. I'm not going to hurt her." He reached a hand out to Levy, waiting for her to grasp it.

Against his chains, there was little Gajeel could do. The manacles on his wrists wouldn't permit him to use his magic, and Levy couldn't be of any help because the same had been done to her.

Kalin turned behind him. "Black Pearl, would you be a dear and hold the dragon slayer back for me?"

To Gajeel and Levy's astonishment, a tall female stepped from the shaft of light. She was in a form like Panther Lily's but instead of being male and a cat, Black Pearl was a canine and a female. The female had a brown leather jacket over a black halter top. Hunter green pants covered up her legs. Across her back was a short staff.

She picked Gajeel up by his long mane, keeping the thrashing male away from the script mage. Levy gaped at the two until feeling her manacles part. The chain that had held them together retracted into the cuffs, leaving her in something that looked like two silver bracelets.

Something about the bangles were odd. Even though she was free to move her hands, she still couldn't use Solid Script.

Kalin wrapped an arm around Levy's shoulders, and Gajeel snapped, "Get your hands off of her!"

"Oh, calm down, slayer. Your girlfriend and I are just going to go upstairs to have a nice chat about translating the Earth Tablet. Also! I forgot to mention that your little Exceed won't be returning for a while. You see, I had him teleported to Magnolia. He has no clue that you're two days away from the town."

"Two days," Levy breathed, and a sudden weight of despair tried to sneak inside her. She stared after a writhing Gajeel trying to brawl against the tall Exceed-like canine while Kalin led her up a staircase.

* * *

"I don't think I can do this anymore," Adamine mumbled onto the train's stone platform. Her body had sprawled out there and hadn't moved. The green from her face was finally fading out and so was the nausea, but she could hardly make herself move. Four train rides in a row had rendered her immobile.

Freed shook his head. Now that they had put some distance between themselves and immediate danger. They could relax a bit. The tension that had been obvious on everyone's faces was now disappearing gradually. He mentioned, "That was the last train ride. We're in Clover Town now. Hopefully, we can escape being seen by Blue Pegasus. I'm sure Fairy Tail has contacted them by this point."

After lifting herself from the platform, she sat on her haunches. "All of this would be easier if Laxus and Evergreen were here. Where are they? I've been wondering about that."

A grin crossed over Bickslow's face, but it was Freed who explained, "Evergreen was working with Elfman alone on a job, and Laxus was doing some solo work."

"Yeah. '_Working'_. It was probably a date. I'm just glad I wasn't around to hear them." His totems chimed, "date, date".

"Elfman? Oh, no. You aren't talking about the big, muscled up guy who is always harping about manliness. Are you?" Her face blanched at the thought. She'd seen the huge male on Tenrou with Evergreen, but she hadn't thought that there was anything to that. Interesting.

Freed put a red sleeved arm over his face. He whined, "Oh, if Laxus was here, we would know what to do! The only reason I got Adam out of there was because I was afraid the guild would think she really was a traitor. Laxus could have explained this mess to the master, and we could be looking for Gajeel and Levy without worrying about the guild!"

Bickslow just snickered and stuck his tongue out. "Na! It's better this way! We can have more fun on the run than if everything went smooth! If Natsu's team joins in, I just want to get revenge on Loke and the Cosplayer for beating me during the Battle of Fairy Tail."

From her spot on the ground, Adamine teased, "Aw. Did the big, scary Seith Mage get a wittle bruise? Poor baby." She cast a befanged smile.

"Don't even start it, stoner, or I'll send you on the first train back to Oshibana." He snickered when Adamine went green at the statement alone.

Freed grinned at the exchange. It was nice having Adam around. It gave Bickslow someone to verbally spar with instead of him. Still, now was not the time for fun and games. They needed to find Gajeel and Levy while keeping Adam out of sight of Fairy Tail and its comrades.

Holden would probably be the best place to start, but if Adamine knew something about Shadow Hunter, maybe, she would know where to look for them.

As soon as she was up on her feet, he asked, "Adam, do you have any idea where Shadow Hunter may have taken Levy and Gajeel?"

Her playful expression was gone in an instant, seriousness settling like a mask over her face. Bickslow had to do a double take when he saw the change in demeanor. "I would suspect that they wouldn't be too far from Holden. It may be near the border, but it's not exactly on it. Guilds from Lancet aren't authorized to enter Fiore without permission. They would want to be in Fiore but close enough away from it to cross the border before authorities could get alerted."

Freed gave a nod. Although she made a point, it still didn't explain why this guild had been after her for so long.

Adamine didn't seem like anything special aside from being a rock dragon slayer. She was rather attractive with big, green eyes and a mess of light and dark brown hair that she kept tamed with a camo bandana. Her body was curvy but that was a rather common occurrence in Fairy Tail.

There was something about the way she walked though. She had a stubborn set to her jaw and walked with authority when she wasn't tripping over the wind. Freed wondered what her status had been in Lancet. It must have been rather high for guilds from Fiore and Lancet to be hunting her down.

He narrowed his eyes on her. That had been the big mystery surrounding Adamine. She was a wandering mage with little cash on her hands but sported expensive emerald lacrimas that kept her power from going haywire. She had a rather odd nature for someone so powerful.

One second she could be just as much of a pervert as Bickslow. The next she could be more scholarly than Freed.

"Finally deciding that Laxus isn't the only thing you're into?" Bickslow taunted and smacked Freed on the back. Although his demeanor was teasing, Freed heard something more in his playful voice, almost jealousy?

He scowled at his friend. "No, that's not it." Freed glanced at Adamine.

She was strolling ahead of the two members of the Raijinshuu or Thunder God Tribe. Her hands were stuffed inside of the back pockets of her dark green shorts. She shouldn't be paying attention to them. She looked like the daily activities of the citizens of Clover Town were entertaining her.

Deciding it was safe to discuss her, Freed explained, "Remember on the train when she was about to explain to us why she was being hunted down by Shadow Hunter?" Bickslow nodded. "I was wondering about a few things. Neither has she brought the subject back up, nor has she ever explained any details about her past. I want to know why she won't talk about it. She seemed like she was going to before she got sick."

Bickslow tilted his head at the twenty year old. Freed was right. Mina, no, the stoner always kept her past locked up inside her. He and Freed, along with Evergreen and Laxus, had no clue where she was from or who she really was.

They knew she was nice and powerful. That had been the reason they'd offered her a spot in their apartment when she'd come to Magnolia twelve years ago. They still kept a Murphy bed that had the second purpose of storage in the apartment for her whenever she decided to pop in, but Adamine herself was a mystery. Bickslow had never really cared about learning her past until here recently.

The situation they were in was awfully sketchy. If they could get Adamine to explain it, then they would have a better grasp on where she stood with the dark guild. The thought that Lily was right slipped into his mind, but he stomped on it before it could fully form.

Adam had never shown any attraction to complex plots and strategy. If she was going to betray someone, she would do it by telling them just how little she thought of them. It would be best if he and Freed got the information out of her tonight.

"As much as I'd like to stay at an inn tonight, I think that it would be best to camp out since Adamine is being hunted. There's too much a chance of getting caught with Blue Pegasus being in this town," Freed explained, taking Bickslow's thoughts right from his head.

"Yeah. Besides, the last thing I want to have to deal with is prying Ichiya and his boyfriends off the stoner." He glanced up to Adamine she was standing in front of a shop window and looking in with a dreamy expression on her face. When he'd looked up at the name of the building, he'd understood immediately: Ben's Manga Shop.


	8. Subtle Explanations

Subtle Explanations

Adam's nose was just inches in front of the glass window of the shop as she peered inside. _Agh!_ This was one of her weaknesses! Why did she have to notice the manga shop? She was supposed to be looking for Gajeel and Levy, but this shop showed up?

Her heart suddenly ached for the variety of B, HB, and H pencils. The store had vine charcoal in a neat little box that would have fit perfectly inside of the pocket she devoted entirely to her manga. She felt a physical sense of loss when she saw a shelf that appeared to be a shrine to manga. It was lined with only the best new releases. She could have drooled.

Besides, a full day had passed with hardly anyone getting any sleep. They had been keeping watch to see if anyone in Fairy Tail had made it to the train stations when they did. Surely, Bickslow and Freed would want to stop for the night. She could go in there, grab a sketchpad, some pencils, and charcoal. It would be the perfect entertainment!

Daring a glance to the door, Adam was about to sneak in when the chiming of bells caught her ears. It was the door. "Ah! Such wonderful perfume!" a male voice proclaimed, and Adamine suddenly had her hand in the grasp of a short, red haired man.

Her entire face froze up when three males surrounded her. A short one exclaimed, "If you like art, miss, I would be honored if you drew me."

"D-drew y-you?" she stammered, gawking at the four males.

"You're shyness. It's so cute, but I swear I don't like you."

"You are quite the beautiful young lady, miss. Would you like to go out some time?"

Her eyes went wide at the sudden attention. She could feel herself trying to go into stone, but she attempted to hold it back as much as possible. Freed and Bickslow said that a guild called Blue Pegasus was here. These men bore guild marks. If she gave anything away, they might figure out who she was.

"My dear, would you be so kind as to tell me what is the name of the perfume you wear?" the older man questioned, and Adam looked over the group's head to look for Freed and Bickslow. She needed help. _Like, now!_

* * *

Bickslow glanced up from Freed after plotting just how they were going to get Adamine to spill out information about her past, but what he saw made his jaw go slack. _Of freaking course_, he'd jinxed himself.

Team Womanizer had Adam and were leading her to a small café two stores down from the manga shop. After hitting Freed on the shoulder, he lifted his chin in Adamine's direction.

Freed gave out an exasperated sigh. "Of course. We let her out of our sight for one minute and she's already gotten into trouble. At least it isn't assassins this time."

"I would rather assassins be the case."

* * *

Adamine gawked at the three men. The shorter one, Eve, sat closely beside her. The tsundere one, Ren, was leaning back on his chair. He snuck glances at her when she wasn't looking. The one with slightly messy hair, Hibiki, was directly across the table in front of her. The creepy one, Ichiya, was on her other side.

They'd somehow convinced a waitress to deliver cake and tea to her while she'd sat dumbstruck at the males.

"So, your name is Opal?" Hibiki charmed and leaned on his interlocked fingers. The smile he was casting was supposed to be flirty. Adamine had no clue, so she just jumped to that conclusion. She was oblivious to flirtation unless someone sat there and spelt it out for her.

"Y-yeah. How did I get here exactly?"

They ignored the question and instead went back to charming her. "Your do-rag is very cute. Where did you get it?"

While Adamine continued to dodge their questions, she kept looking around for Freed and Bickslow. Did they not realize where she'd gone? They'd been whispering to each other while she'd gone out ahead of them.

They couldn't have possibly ditched her. Could they? Oh, if they did, they had better get ready for the beatings of their lives. If they thought Laxus was scary when he got pissed, they had yet to meet her wrath!

Suddenly, a hand gripped her by the back of her vest. Picking her clean up from the chair, a masculine voice explained, "We'll be taking this from you."

"Bickslow, Freed, such horrible perfume. A gentleman should never pick up a lady when she's enjoying good company!" Ichiya howled, striking a strange pose that made Adam's eyebrows rise.

"Never when she's in good company!" the three males with him added in, striking the same pose.

Under her breath, Adamine whispered, "Help me."

Grinning with his tongue stuck out, Bickslow mentioned, "She was in good company until you goons found her." He placed Adamine on her feet. She could have hugged him for the assistance, but there was no way she was going to do such thing. Not ever after that experience in the middle of the night! She was thankful his babies cheered, "Good company!" to distract her from her thoughts.

"Wait a second!" Hibiki exclaimed. "I'd heard from Master Bob that Fairy Tail was looking for you and Freed."

Damn it! How had word gotten out so fast? It was six in the afternoon. They had left at three this morning. That was a good fifteen hours of train travel with barely any sleep. They didn't have the energy nor the time to deal with this.

Playing dumb, Freed said, "Really? I wonder why. Bickslow and I had met up early this morning and decided to depart to Clover Town since it was on the way to a job. It's not that strange for us to disappear every now and then."

Hibiki didn't look convinced, but it was Ichiya who asked, "Then, is the young lady you're with on the mission with you? She doesn't have the perfume of Fairy Tail."

Adamine gave Freed a break by quickly explaining, "I'm from another guild. Freed and Bickslow just met up with me here. I was about to meet up them when I met y'all." She chanced a glance to Freed. He looked relieved that someone had helped him out of that one.

Eve perked up. He asked, "Oh, really! What guild?"

"Oh, you wouldn't know it. It's from the Kingdom Lancet. I-I'm a part of Kindred Spirit." Adamine didn't know what she was doing. Kindred Spirit was a guild, a good one at that, but she'd left it after deciding to hunt down Zeref and Firmalione.

The man suddenly pulled up an archive with his magic, and Adam had to try to keep the color in her face. No. He was an archive mage. Of course they had to run into one of those. She watched as he pulled up Lancet then opened up information on Kindred Spirit.

"Oh! I've heard of them! They're quite a popular guild. They're in high standings with the Magic Council and the princess of Lancet. Actually, it says here that they took her in after her parents were killed in a freak accident when she was only seven. She's apparently become the heir to the throne since then." He grinned at Adamine in a way that sent shivers down her spine. It wasn't a creepy smile, but it was more of one like, _'I know something you don't know'_. "We'll it was nice to meet you, Opal. Hopefully, you can visit Blue Pegasus some time when you aren't busy."

She gave a polite inclination of her head then waved. "It was nice to meet you all, but we really should get going." She turned around and noted Bickslow and Freed doing the same. Good. It looked like they were going to be able to escape.

"Of course. Goodbye!" Hibiki called.

* * *

Once Hibiki couldn't see Freed, Bickslow, and Opal anymore, Ichiya turned to him. "That was her. Wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was."

"Why did you let her go so easily? Fairy Tail wants them back."

"Because with her kind of past, she needs someone to believe in her."

Ichiya cast one of his Trimen a curious look. The man definitely knew something that he didn't. Ichiya decided that information was better left inside of Hibiki's mind and headed towards the Blue Pegasus guild with the rest of his team following.

* * *

They were still in Clover Town when Freed let out a massive yawn. That was right. They'd been on the run for eighteen hours straight, and in the lulls between Adamine's motion sickness and train departures, they'd only been working off of short naps.

With Adamine in their presence, they had to keep alert. She tended to attract attention, and it made her feel extremely guilty. She felt like she was always getting them into trouble. Or anyone really. If she ever got close to someone Shadow Hunter or another guild would use them as bait to get Adamine to come over to their side. It was a shame that those guilds never realized that wouldn't ever work.

Instead of agreeing, Adamine would attack. A young farm girl she'd been assisting for some extra jewels had been snatched up in the middle of Adam's battle. One of Kalin's men threatened that if she didn't hand herself over, he would kill her. The bastard had never seen her Wing Slash of the Adamantine Dragon Slayer until it was too late.

Still, it didn't make her feel any better. She shouldn't be such an omen on people. "Hey, it seems like Ichiya and the Trimens aren't going to bother us. Why don't we get a room at an inn instead of camping out?" Adamine offered. If the two of them were going to willingly risk themselves for her, she might as well buy them a good night's rest.

"Scared of sleeping next to us in the woods, stoner?" Bickslow taunted.

"Of course I'm not, Tongue Boy. I just figured you'd be scared of the dark. What? With all of those wolves out right now." She watched him stick his tongue out for her, and she raised her eyebrow. "Want a repeat of twelve years ago?"

Instead of answering, his totems cried, "Scary, Mina!"

Catching onto that new nickname, Freed asked, "Mina? Why, Bickslow, I never knew you had a thing for pet names." He raised his brows and looked at his friend. To everyone's shock, light blush was running up the visible parts of his face.

"What can I say?" he defended. "A guy's got to have his charms in some department." The passive words didn't match the red on his face, and he quickly turned his attention to the stars.

"Taking a hint from the Trimens, I see," Freed mentioned before looking to Adamine. She was completely oblivious and staring at the sky like Bickslow. "Adam, I'd much rather take you up on your offer than our original plan. You're probably right about Blue Pegasus not going to rat us out. Hibiki could have easily done that. It'll also be easier for us to keep guard from whoever Fairy Tail might have sent for us."

She gave a nod then looked back to the sky. She said, "I've only been here once before, so y'all can pick the place out." A shooting star caught her eyes, and she gawked at it.

It was no time before they were at the counter of the inn, and Adamine remembered something. She may have been at Bickslow and Freed's apartment, but she had completely forgotten to get her money out of her private safe. Maybe, it had been a good thing she hadn't gone into that art and comic store.

As if sensing what she was thinking Freed cast her a grin then held up a leather wallet with a small emerald imbedded into the front flap. "I wouldn't be the leader if I didn't remember this kind of stuff. You should have enough for the entire trip."

"Thanks, Freed. I should've remembered, but I'd been so surprised the guild was after me that I'd forgotten." She took the wallet and unlatched a pocket on her jeans. It was a shame that she didn't have her messenger bag. She could have stuffed those art supplies, some manga, and this billfold in there. Ugh! She would make sure she got that back while they were getting Gajeel and Levy from Kalin's clutches.

Freed quickly got a key to a room then they walked up the stairs. They shouldn't be here for long. It was nine already, and if they didn't want to be caught by Fairy Tail or the dark guild, Shadow Hunter, they would surely leave around five.

As someone who went by a strict schedule, Freed would surely be up before Bickslow. Adamine on the other hand was accustomed to waking up as soon as she felt sunlight. The worst part about this whole thing was that she didn't have her bag with her clothes in it.

Ugh. She wanted a shower and clean clothes! She'd been thankful that the guild had changed her from her past attire, but now that she knew she could have washed them tonight and put them on the next morning, she wished she would have gotten them.

Freed turned the key to the room, and they all stepped inside.

The room was a two bedroom with a small living area in front and the two beds in the back. A restroom was placed off to the side, and a long closet stretched the entirety of the small hallway.

It was minimalistic in style but functional in design. It fit their needs perfectly. Two could sleep while one kept guard.

Exhausted, she flopped down onto the couch. It felt like forever since she'd been able to sit down and actually enjoy the plushness of the cushions. Each entire train ride she'd been in the bathroom, and when she'd sat down with Ichiya and the Trimens, she'd been too busy getting sexually harassed to notice the pillow on the dainty, white chair.

"Ah! Finally!" she sighed and stretched out like a cat against the couch.

"Don't get too comfy just yet, stoner. You're the only one who got any sleep last night, so you're gunna be keeping watch until midnight," Bickslow informed even as he sat down beside her head and tossed his feet up on a coffee table. "Keeping watch!" his babies cried.

Freed seemed to analyze that announcement before nodding his head. "It'd make the most sense, Adam. Do you mind?"

"Huh? Of course not. The ride to get here was hell, and we'll have to get up early. I'll do it only if you're the one to have the morning watch, Freed."

"Of course, I can't trust Bickslow to wake us up in time."

"Hey! What'd I do wrong?" he snickered.


	9. Reverse Ambush

Reverse Ambush

Levy shivered when Kalin draped his arm around her shoulders. He was leading her up another set of stone stairs in the darkened place they called a guild.

It was extremely cave-like. As a matter of fact, Levy was positive it was a cave. Stalactites pointed downwards in a threatening display of rocky points. The stairs underneath her feet looked to be carved straight from the rock. There wasn't a smooth surface anywhere.

Right now, she was walking to what Kalin had explained to be their library. She had been stuck here for two days now, trying to figure out the writing on the Tablet of Earth.

The only things that she understood had been written in a mix of Dragon Script and medieval Western Siena, the language that people from the Kingdom of Lancet spoke. She had explained to Kalin that the tablet was about the rituals of a medieval civilization's priests.

It had seemed innocent enough at first, but when Levy had gotten down to the lower portions of the tablet, the script had gotten darker. The rituals were not just the day to day ceremonial habits of Lancet priests. They were specifically about Lancet Dragon Priests, a dark syndicate of dragon worshippers.

The Lancet Dragon Priests were the leftovers of a once large community. They had been warrior priests who learned slayer magic from the ancient dragons, but there was one dragon in particular that stayed with the humans the most. Her name was Firmalione.

Those who worshipped her viewed her as the goddess of creation, fertility, and beauty. There were other dragons of course, but Firmalione was the creator of all in the eyes of the Lancet Dragon Priests.

She taught the priests how to harvest from the land, planting and growing crops. With her power over the earth, she brought fertility to the lands, but her power came with a price.

Once every five hundred years, the dragon would suck the land dry. Her lack of attention to the Lancet Dragon Priests' crops would cause their land to return to the barren wasteland it had been years ago. The only way for the worshippers of the dragon to return the land to its bountiful state would be for them to offer up the most beautiful female children in all the lands.

Seven priests would be chosen by the dragon to go on a pilgrimage to kingdoms of her choice. They would look amongst all the women of these lands to find the most beautiful young girl they could find. From there, they would kidnap the child to take her back to their goddess dragon, but not all parents were interested in letting their daughters go with these strange men in strange clothing.

Battles would begin over the right to these princesses. These battles were called the Crusades of Lione. A single priest that had been trained under the wings of the great dragon would decimate villages and capitals of countries just for the life of one fair maiden.

Eventually, if all seven priests returned with all seven maidens, Firmalione would take the girls and return the land to its bounty.

It was not specified what exactly the great dragon did with her new females. Some priests claimed that she ate the women. Others said she kept them as her consorts. A select few believed that they became dragons themselves.

Levy herself was curious about figuring the truth to what the dragon did to the girls. She even wondered if Adamine was one of them. As much as she hated to admit it, she was becoming engrossed in the story of Firmalione and the Seven Maidens. Each night when she returned to her cell with Gajeel, she couldn't help herself but mention all the details of the tablet to him.

She only feared for what exactly was at the bottom of the tablet. Not even Gajeel, who'd been raised by Metalicana, could read the inscription. Their captor on the other hand was ecstatic, and when he opened the doors to a library with shelves carved into the cave walls, Levy gawked.

Torches lit up at their entrance. They went at least a hundred feet into the air before an opening in the center of the room revealed the night sky.

Kalin walked her further into the room, and Levy couldn't help but notice what she saw in the center. Seven sacrificial altars were placed in a circle. The moonlight shimmered down perfectly on each one, making the white stone appear to glow.

As the hooded man sat her down on one of the altars, she looked down to the symbol. It read, "Death."

* * *

Bickslow glanced down at the girl unconscious on the couch. She'd fallen down there and hadn't moved since Freed had gone to bed. Her legs were still slung over one arm of the couch. She was laying with one arm underneath her, wedged somewhere between the couch cushions and probably numb. Her lips were parted, and an ungraceful smacking sound would occur at random. When he'd come in here to take over guard duty, he'd caught her drooling down one side of her face.

He snickered. Yeah, the girl definitely wasn't graceful, but that was what he liked about her. She could meet him step for step and didn't worry about appearances. The wild riot of her hair was spilled all over the couch and so long it hit the floor in places. She probably hadn't had it cut in months.

Right now, Bickslow sat with his arms crossed and his feet up on the coffee table. He hadn't even tried to move her when he'd come to take over her position. The crazy woman probably would have blasted him with a Roar of the Adamantine Dragon then rolled over back to sleep.

He glanced out the window. Yeah, she probably would have shot him right out that window and halfway to Magnolia.

Hmm. That reminded him. He hadn't heard a single thing from Fairy Tail. Bickslow would have assumed that Laxus, Evergreen, or maybe even Natsu's team would have found them by now. He doubted that Master Makarov had called off the search for them.

There was a potential threat to the lives of Fairy Tail wizards out and about. A suspect was on the run after hearing that two guild members had gotten captured. Adam, Freed, and Bickslow's actions of escaping had only wound up making Adamine look even more suspicious in the eyes of the master.

Not like he cared. He was hoping that Natsu's team would find them. It'd be funny to see the looks on their faces when half of the Raijinshuu and an unexpected Dragon Slayer took them out quicker than they'd shown up. He was getting riled up just thinking about it. Good thing his babies were still asleep else they would have been mimicking his excitement.

Something grabbed at Bickslow's waist, and he raised an eyebrow when he noticed Mina, no Adam, pulling herself into his lap. Her face snuggled up against his abdomen, making a sudden heat run throughout his body.

"Damn, woman," he cursed then stretched his arms out along the back of the couch. He knew he was attracted to her, but this was making things worse. She was a sexy little piece, but all curled up on him like this made a mix of affection and lust run through him. Now, he really, really wanted someone to come busting through a window or door so he could get his mind off the curvy brunette wrapped around his waist like a belt.

Bickslow let out a gust of air to the ceiling before something caught his eye. There was a slight rustling in the trees outside their room. He could see a flash of something dipping beneath the window's view.

Ah. Perhaps, something had just answered his prayers. With a grin he summoned his totems, feeling his soul reach out to the five sleeping ones on the coffee table. Once the six of them were linked, he crept his way towards the window.

A sudden crashing sounded, and Bickslow looked to Freed. He cracked open one eye. When Bickslow motioned to him to come to the window, Freed nodded like he already knew.

"Lucy, you're so heavy!" a familiar voice whined.

"I am not!"

"She has been following the diet I planned for her once I became her spirit. Perhaps, I should change it again."

"Shut up! I'm not fat!"

"No one said that you were, my princess."

"Did you see them in there?" someone else questioned. Ah. That sounded like Erza.

"Yeah."

"And?" a particularly Natsu-like voice wondered.

"Why are you blushing, Lucy?" Grey must have asked.

"I-I, um. Well, Bickslow had this girl in his lap."

"WHAT?" they all cried out in unison.

Suddenly disinterested in what he was hearing, Bickslow leaped out onto the tree limb Happy must have flown Lucy up to. He took the opportunity he had to announce, "Go, my babies!"

"Oh, no! We've been found out!"

"It's all Happy's fault!"

"Lucy, you're just too heavy! I couldn't help it."

Bickslow turned back to look at his green haired ally. "Freed, I can handle them. Wake up-"

"What's going on out here?" Adamine yawned. Her hands were busy rubbing at her bleary eyes until she was pulled back from a blast of Natsu's fire by Freed. She was mere inches from getting the tip of her nose scorched off.

Freed grabbed her by the wrist and explained, "Fairy Tail caught up with us. Some of our mages are trying to bring us back to the guild." A blast of ice was shot through the window, and Freed blocked it with his sword. "Apparently, they decided to do it by force."

Adamine looked towards Bickslow. His tongue was hanging out in its usual style and he had his babies shooting out to hit a group of Fairy Tail mages. It was one against four. Well, four against six if she was going to count Bickslow's totems. He looked to be having fun.

Freed latched a hand around Adam's wrist and pulled her towards the door. "W-wait! Shouldn't we stay and help him! I can fight too!"

"No! If we stay and fight we run the risk of you getting captured. They aren't really after us. They want you more than me or Bickslow! Besides, if you get caught, then you don't get the chance to clear your name." He began running towards the door with her trailing behind him.

As soon as he pulled it open, they ran right into a trap. Titania, Erza, stood in her cheetah print Flight Armor. "Give yourself up! No one is allowed to harm Fairy Tail's guild members and get away with it!"

"Erza, Adamine isn't the enemy here!" he exclaimed but was ignored when the requip mage launched herself at Adamine. He was about to try to come to her aid when a blast of ice shot him in the gut.

Adamine gasped at the sight of Freed flying back from maker magic. He'd been completely taken off guard. She wanted to help him, but she was busy with her own fight right now.

Erza's sword was hitting her in multiple directions but not doing a single thing. There wasn't a single scratch on Adamine as she kept her adamantine arms up to protect her face. She could feel the pressure of the blade, but the pain was dulled despite the sharp edge.

Adam had dealt with quite a few requip mages on her own time, and they had very little effect on her defensive scales. Deciding it was time to stop the game, she reached out and snagged one of the mage's swords from her hands.

With her fist wrapped around the blade, she jerked it backwards then sent it flying in the direction of Freed's attacker. It narrowly missed the ice mage, but it sent the message across. She could have aimed for him instead of the picture on the wall.

The male stared in awe when Adamine lunged for Erza. He had almost forgotten Freed completely when Adam forced the mage's hands behind her back.

Adamine wasn't here to fight Fairy Tail, She was here to rescue the fairies that had gotten captured. That could only be proven by not harming any of them.

The ice mage was about to assist his comrade but was stopped short by one of Freed's runes. "Oh, shit. Not this again!" he howled and smacked his fists against the activated trap.

Freed grinned but had little time to savor the victory for another mage was coming his way. With fire shooting from his fists the mage screamed, "Wing Slash of the Fire Dragon!"

"Freed!" Adam cried when she saw the mage get hit. As soon as his name passed from her lips, the mage she was attempting to hold began to still in her writhing.

Erza stopped fighting her completely. Did she understand? That was made apparent when the woman she was holding exclaimed, "Natsu! Lucy! Fall back! Stop attacking them!"

Getting the picture, Adamine loosened up her hold until Erza stood in front of her, but she kept her scales up. Just in case the requip mage was creating a ruse.

"What? We just got here!" a pink haired dragon slayer exclaimed. He stopped but not before he fell into Freed's runes. "Damn it! No!"


	10. Dark Past, Brighter Future

Dark Past, Brighter Future

Seven pairs of eyes were upon her as Adamine sat nervously on the bed. There was destruction all around in the once immaculate space of the inn. One of the beds had somehow gotten flipped over against the wall. The picture she had thrown the sword through was now just a pile of glass shards, and the bathroom door was leaned unceremoniously against the flipped bed. Only Firmalione knew how it had gotten blown off the hinges.

Giving a nervous gulp, Adam tried to clear her thoughts. They were all sitting patiently in front of her, waiting for her answer to the question. Why is Shadow Hunter after you?

It looked like the charade was over. The truth needed to be unveiled now. Adam just wondered how she could get them to understand the importance of what was going on.

She toyed with her hands, rubbing her sharp nails underneath each other as her nervous tell. "It all started when I was five years old," she began and glanced up to the people around her.

There was an ice mage who had somehow lost all his clothes down to his boxers. There was a requip mage who was wearing Hearts Kruez armor. A celestial spirit mage was waiting for the story patiently. A fire dragon slayer was leaned in with a serious interest. They were all from Fiore. How could they understand the customs of her kingdom?

Bickslow patted her head and Freed gave her an encouraging grin. She exhaled her breath. Perhaps, they would at least try to get it.

Her pink lips parted, and she went into the story of her childhood.

* * *

_Spearway, Capital of Lancet_

_Castle Lance_

Her entire body shivered as she stared down from the tower. They'd put her up here for a reason, but she didn't understand why. From her high perch all she could see was knights gathering in front of the castle. They made for an intimidating show of force against a single man.

With a body cloaked in dark robes and a thick hood, Adam couldn't see any part of his face. There wasn't a single feature that she could describe except for a haunting aura like death around his body.

Just the sight of the robed man sent shivers down Adamine's body, but she didn't understand why the castle guards looked at him with such hatred in their eyes.

There were often visitors to the castle. Parents of young noblemen would often come to see who would be the best husband to be arranged for Adamine. This man didn't have a young boy at his side. He was alone.

Again, that wasn't strange. Many men came to visit her mother and father. It was because they were such busy people. There was no reason for there not to be a lot of traffic in front of Castle Lance.

The man raised his hand to the guards and a sudden darkness began to fall upon the castle. All around there was light, but a veil of shadow was summoned around the castle itself.

Adamine could hear their shocked gasps. She watched some men nervously back up closer to the castle.

Brining herself closer to the lancet window, Adam stared out in a mixture of confusion and awe. The man was walking towards the guards now, and without placing a single finger on them, they dropped like flies. His magic was the magic of death.

In a kingdom with very few mages, the guards were amazed and repulsed at the sight of their men collapsing against a shadowy force. There was little they could do against it. The man's power was long range, and their swords and spears were hand-to-hand.

Only when Adamine saw her father rush out to the battle front in his armored glory did Adamine feel even the slightest amount of hope. He looked like a hero in his silver plated armor. The sword he brandished at his side was both decorative and functional with a gorgeous hilt and guard.

But, Adam's hopes were diminished to nothing at the sight of a shadowy claw ripping from the ground and plunging itself through her father's gut. He hadn't even been able to get near the man. There was still a distance to cross for his sword to even reach the cloaked stranger.

Was there nothing they could do against this man?

Apparently not.

The stranger cast one glance to the tower Adamine was in and she saw a smile appear on his face. From reading his lips, she understood, "I'm coming for you."

Her entire body froze as if her shadow was locking her into place. When Adam's mother ripped her up from the window to carry her daughter into the highest part of the tower where the weapons storage was kept for archers, she could do nothing but stare forward in horror.

The man was right behind her.

* * *

_Desert Terra_

"At last, the final one has been collected!" a man proclaimed from a perch in a stone library.

Adamine could do nothing as she watched in horror what was going on. She was drug towards a large stone room, and her eyes focused upon the moonlight gathering in the center.

A massive, circular stone slab was surrounded by seven altars. Upon each altar was not only a symbol representing terms from Tarot Cards but a squirming girl. There was only one altar left without a girl. It was the one that read, "Death."

The man who titled himself Zeref drug Adamine to her respective altar. His hands gripped her bare wrist, and she fought with all her might. There was little that she could do against him.

She was a five year old spoiled princess with no parents and no knights to protect her.

Dressed in strange ceremonial clothing, Adamine screamed when she was forced down onto the altar. Stone clamps held down her wrists and ankles to ensure that she couldn't get away.

The screams of the girls echoed throughout the expanse of the room, and Adam noted that the girls were all dressed the same.

They wore the clothing of the virgins. A pale, sheer white gown covered them from chest to mid-thigh, but upon their faces was the tribal marking that set them apart from the many men and women in the room.

It was the mark of the dragon Firmalione.

The people around them began to hold hands and chant in an ominous language. At that point, Adamine passed out due to Zeref shoving a cloth against her face.

* * *

"I woke up with Firmalione a few days after that. I have no idea what happened to the other six girls, but after living with Firmalione, I'm sure they were safe." She glanced up towards the mages then realized something. She'd never explained why Shadow Hunter was after her.

"I-I don't know why Shadow Hunter is out for me, but I do have my suspicions. I was betrothed a few days before the kidnapping. My… _fiancée_… probably sent them after me. The other suspicion is that their ceremony didn't work to restore the desert to its paradise state and Zeref wants to sacrifice me instead of offering me up to Firmalione, but that's going out on a ledge."

"You're engaged?" Freed and Bickslow both cried out together despite everyone else's silence.

Adamine raised a brow and looked towards the two men. She'd gone through that whole story, and that was all they got out of it.

Not paying attention to the astounded half of the Thunder God Tribe, Erza asked, "Why didn't you stay in Lancet? Why come all the way to Fiore?"

Adamine ran a hand through her now uncovered hair. The spikes and waves sprung out in an unruly nature. Oh, well. It couldn't be helped. Firmalione had never taught her the importance of beauty products.

She explained, "I'd heard there were others like me. People who'd faced Zeref and other dragon slayers. I'd wanted to see if any of them had information on Firmalione or where to find Zeref." She looked out the window nervously.

"There's something you're still hiding from us," Erza noticed.

A blush ran across her face, and she looked to the red haired young woman. She was right. With obvious reluctance Adamine explained, "I'm on the run from my fiancée." She peeked one eye upwards to the astounded group.

"Why? You haven't been around him much because of what happened to you. He can't be all that bad," the celestial spirit mage wondered.

Giving the girl a sad smile, Adamine decided she might as well explain it all. She'd been holding in so much since she ran away. If she didn't get all this pressure off her body, she might explode someday.

"I have been around him since leaving. All he cares about is the throne of Lancet whereas I have no desire to rule. I've spent all this time traveling, and now that's all I want to keep doing. He blames me for his lack of authority and the civil war that split Lancet in half. Lancet is nothing like Fiore. Our culture is a brash one full of fighting. The split of the kingdom was destined to happen, and I feel awful about what my regent is going through. He rules in my stead until I wed Gatlin. Women can't rule a country, and unless I'm wed I can't do anything to help my kingdom."

She gave a pause before adding, "I do have a plan. My country currently believes I'm still alive. Therefore, I still am heir to the crown. If I die, they will go down the chain of command to put another leader in my place. My cousin, Isaac, is a strong, smart young man. He'd make a wonderful ruler if I died."

Hands abruptly gripped her shoulders, and Adamine gaped into the eyes of the fire dragon slayer named Natsu. "You aren't going to kill yourself. Are you!"

"No! Firmalione, no! I'm just going to fake my death! It's something that Evergreen and I have been planning for a while now," she explained, leaning back to get away from the man staring at her like she was insane.

Freed cut in, "Evergreen? She knows about all of this?"

"Course! What else did you think we were doing when we kicked you out of your own apartment?" By the way Freed was flushing and Bickslow was grinning, it was obvious what they thought was going on.

The ice mage, Gray, intercepted that uncomfortable conversation by asking, "How exactly are you going to do all that?"

"It's simple really. I'm an Adamantine Dragon Slayer, and Evergreen has stone eyes. There are only a few mages in Lancet, and most of them are hunted down by magic hating noblemen. They wouldn't care less if I died, so they wouldn't help the nobles in restoring my body. We'll simply have a battle in public like I was a runaway from a gang of kidnappers and Evergreen was going to use her stone eyes to trigger my stone scales. We were debating on whether to include the rest of the Raijinshuu in our plot but hadn't gotten that far because of what happened on Tenrou. I haven't told my cousin, Isaac yet, but I plan to once Evergreen and I get all the preparations together. We'll need a lot of mages to help out."

Natsu cracked a grin at that plan. Apparently he liked it a lot. Adamine nearly fell off the edge of the bed when he got done announcing, "We'll get all of Fairy Tail to help you once we free Gajeel and Levy from Shadow Hunter! You're people shouldn't decide who has the right to rule and who doesn't especially when you don't want to do it in the first place."

A blush settled lightly across Adam's face. Fairy Tail wizards really were something. Someone who was once thought of as a traitor was now being treated like an ally… If only the people in Lancet could think like that then the kingdom wouldn't be divided by a wall.

Her romanticizing was interrupted when Freed stated, "There's something I still don't get. You said the men who captured you tattooed you on your face. You don't have a marking on you."

She gave a grin, relaxed now that she knew she was trusted amongst these people. "I do. I just keep it covered with a spell." Adamine tucked a lock of hair behind her right ear then ran her index finger across the skin in a strange swirling movement.

Before everyone's eyes a tribal dragon began to arise across the skin of her face. The markings were of harsh angles and gentle curves. It was a wonderfully done piece of art that had been hand tapped into her skin by a talented occultist when she had been unconscious. The tip of the dragon's tail came up to an arrow point which tipped right underneath Adamine's right eye.

"I was always embarrassed by it because it marked me as someone's property, and that was something I was always trying to get away from. Now, though, I guess it just means that I'm Firmalione's daughter." Casting a breathtaking grin, Adamine looked towards the odd group in front of her. For once, she was feeling accepted. She hadn't even stuttered in the presence of these mages. She finally felt like she was amongst friends.

* * *

_Later that Morning_

Freed looked down at the map irritably. His hands tilted it this way and that. He looked like he was trying to find the meaning of the life inside of that hardy piece of paper.

A manic laugh escaped from Bickslow's mouth, and he howled, "Don't get us lost like you did last time!" His babies mimicked, "Last time, last time!"

This happened often?

Adamine stood in front of the inn and waved goodbye to the group of mages leaving. They were dragging a writhing Natsu by his open vest as he exclaimed, "I don't wanna go with you! I want to fight with them!" She just laughed at the squirmy dragon slayer.

She couldn't really blame him though. If Adamine knew that someone had the chance to find something about his or her dragon, she would be crying like a big fat baby to go with them instead of going back home. Deciding that she should at least give him some encouragement, Adamine called out, "Natsu! There's a Tablet of Fire in a museum in Crocus! You should check it out, and see if it's about Igneel!"

Lucy looked down to her friend. "Hear that, Natsu! You can do that while they're getting Levy and Gajeel!"

"If it's in a stupid museum, then I can look at it any time! I want to go rescue Levy and Gajeel!" He gave a large thrash before a gauntlet covered fist knocked him unconscious.

Gray, who had finally found his pants but not his shirt, grumbled, "Tch. Idiot, how does he expect eight of us to sneak into a guild and sneak out without looking suspicious?"

"Natsu would just barge in there and set everything on fire!" Happy cried with a voice like sheer joy.

"We need to tell the guild what's going on anyway. The master needs to be updated on this new information, so he'll quit getting guilds to search for those three."

Gray mentioned, "Laxus probably wants to know what's going on with what's left of Raijinshuu unless he's left to look for them himself."

Adamine cast a grin in the direction of the bickering group then put her hands in her back pockets. They were probably right about Laxus. If he'd heard that his tribe was out on suspicions of harboring a criminal, especially one he was friends with, he would surely be searching for them by now.

She did wonder if Evergreen was back yet. If she was on a supposed date with Elfman and returned to see Freed and Bickslow was gone, she would leave with Laxus if she didn't go on her own.

Bickslow appeared at her side and beamed with his tongue extended. "This is the first you haven't looked like a crybaby, stoner. I thought you were going to break down crying at any second." His totems proclaimed, "Crybaby!"

"Humph. That coming from the guy who can't look me in the eye when I leave? I don't think so, Bix. I've got your number." She turned on her heel and pranced off towards Freed leaving Bickslow snickering at her sass. Now she was acting more like the Adamine he knew.

Freed glanced towards her for just a moment before turning to the map. "If Laxus was here, he would be able to explain which path would be best!" He buried his face into the crook of his arm and whimpered.

"Having Laxus withdrawals, Freed?" a familiar voice wondered, and the trio turned around to the origin.

Adamine felt her jaw go slack at the sight. It was Evergreen! In a short green dress and familiar glasses, the fairy walked her way towards the group in an elegant sway of pure confidence.

Bickslow looked at his partner and called, "Took you long enough, Ever! Freed was just about to get us lost again."

Evergreen didn't look too surprised by that, but instead of responding to Bickslow, she looked to Adamine. "Two years, Adamine!" she lectured. "Two years and I don't get a letter. A message. A video via lacrima! I had thought you were dead or had gotten kidnapped! You always contacted me, but for two years I didn't get anything. I wasn't surprised that Laxus, Bickslow, or Freed didn't get anything but me! You had to go and do it to me too!" She looked royally offended before she stopped right in front of Adamine.

With her hands up in surrender, Adamine cast a nervous laugh from her mouth. She had assumed this would happen when she'd seen Evergreen again. "I've been busy, Evergreen. I couldn't help it."

"Couldn't help it! How hard is it write a letter? Really." Adamine just shrugged and grinned before being pulled into a sudden hug. "Ugh! I missed you, idiot! It's hard work being the only woman in the Raijinshuu."

She gave her friend a smile. "I can guess that much, but I thought you loved the spot light?"

"Of course, I do, but it doesn't hurt to have a beautiful co-star." Demeanor turning serious, Evergreen explained, "I met Erza and the rest of them on the way here. They said you had a day and a half left of travel before you got to the guild."

Adamine pushed her excitement to the back of her head and got back down to business. "Yeah. Shadow Hunter is a dark guild filled with a bunch of assholes, but they won't hurt someone they think can be used as bait. Levy and Gajeel should be relatively safe. I'm just worried about the last passage on the tablet. It's obviously an incantation. I don't know what it's about; though, I have suspicions."

Evergreen shook her head. "You think that Levy and Gajeel are valuable to them?"

"Definitely. Freed and Bickslow said she can translate many languages. Gajeel should be valuable because he's a dragon slayer. Shadow Hunter has a Seith mage that could use him." Adamine glanced to Bickslow and Freed when she felt eyes on her back. They were undoubtedly wondering how Adam knew so much about the dark guild.

She'd been running from them for long enough that it shouldn't have come off as so much of a surprise. Adamine knew the top dogs in Shadow Hunter. It was the new members of the guild that she was worried about.

Adamine tossed her green eyes around Evergreen. "Hey, where's Laxus?"

"Laxus? I thought he was with you. I was going to ask you the same thing," Evergreen responded and looked towards Freed and Bickslow. Freed still was staring at the map. Bickslow was messing with him about getting lost. They obviously hadn't seen Laxus.


	11. A Moment of Truth

**So here I am at Chapter Eleven, and I'm starting to miss the romance that goes on between two long lost friends. This chapter reveals a more sincere facet of Bickslow while incorporating a touch of his usual attitude. If I get too out of character, just tell me, and I'll see what I can do to improve. Reviews are always appreciated. :)**

* * *

A Moment of Truth

The night air was crisp when the Raijinshuu decided it was time to stop for the night. A crescent moon hung heavily in navy blue clouds that streaked like stretched cotton candy. This was the second night that they'd been searching for the guild, but not a single scent had crossed Adamine's ever perceptive sense of smell.

She laid down on her back in a clearing of the forest. There was a gentle breeze flowing in from the west. It played with her untied hair and went underneath the shirt that Evergreen had brought for her. Her friend had been safe to assume that Adamine would need an extra change of clothes for the trip.

Adamine was now sporting brown leather gladiator shoes, a pair of knee length jean shorts, and a black t shirt. The outfit was made less plain by Adamine's leather belt and vest. The many lacrima that decorated her body from her wrists, neck, and earrings also added a bit of emerald flair to the whole design. It was funny that Evergreen had taken the time to dress Adam appropriate to her tastes instead of just grabbing something.

Right now, Adam laid down with the dark grass tickling her long legs. Her mind was wondering to Gajeel, Levy, and Shadow Hunter. Aside from that bit from Team Natsu, the trip had been calm and quiet. It was the quietest trip Adamine had been on since Lancet found out that she was still alive.

The entire kingdom was in an uproar. One half of the split kingdom wanted Adamine to rule despite her gender. The other half demanded for her to be wed to Gatlin. It put Adamine in an awful situation.

She hated that her kingdom was divided. She hated that her gender kept her from fixing things. She hated the man that had killed her parents and created this ruckus.

Biting the inside of her lip, Adam wondered if she was being too greedy. Maybe she should just marry Gatlin and be done with this charade. She didn't know if it was wrong to fake her death for a better king to rule.

Isaac had a much better head on his shoulders than Adamine did. He understood policy and politics. He loved his country. Once he'd found out that his cousin was still alive, he had sent a carrier pigeon to Freed and Bickslow's place.

It was funny that he had remembered the mages had been keeping her for a few days. It had been even better that instead of going to the apartment, the pigeon had found her when she was passing through Magnolia. Freed and Bickslow hadn't a clue that she had been right under their noses that day, but she had seen them.

She remembered the sense of loss as she'd watched Laxus and the Raijinshuu walking to the guild. Freed had been hanging on Laxus's every word. Evergreen had been fanning herself from the heat. Bickslow had been instigating a fight between two street brawlers.

All that she had wanted to do that day was join them, see if they remembered her after two years and the incident on Tenrou, but she hadn't done it. Adamine had decided it was better to leave to continue where she'd left off on her search for Firmalione.

She had been so caught up in what the letter had read that she'd forgotten all about the team that had taken her in. That had been the day she'd learned Lancet had become divided.

Isaac had told her that he was next in line for the throne if Lancet ever called off the search for her. Adamine had been thrilled originally. She had known he was next in line, but to hear that there was potential for her to live a normal life away from royalty and polite society had caused her to long for Fairy Tail more than ever.

She had wanted to join the guild that day, but she had refrained. Adamine saw just how happy they all were. She didn't want to bother her old friends with the issues that had kept her on the road in the first place.

Adam let out a groan of irritability and hit her fists against the dirt in a fit of annoyance.

"If I'm interrupting something just tell me," a familiar, deep voice commented, and Adamine lifted herself on her elbows to see Bickslow. He'd taken off his armor, likely about to go to sleep in the camp they had set up for the night.

"No. No. You're not. I'm just pissed off."

He approached her, standing beside her elbows. Looking up at the sky, he sarcastically mentioned, "I don't know why. By the sound of things you've had a pretty easy life up to this point. I don't see any reason for you to be pissed off."

Cracking a grin, Adam looked up to him. It was a rare occurrence to see him without at least a visor on. His features were easily displayed before her, and she noted the interesting facets of his physique.

He had a prominent jawline, and without his tongue sticking out Adamine could notice that he had attractive masculine lips. His slanted eyes had an interesting swirl that went up on his skin. Eyeliner? There was no telling. It was probably a tattoo knowing him. Somehow, he could even work that large marking in the middle of his face when he was using his magic.

Adamine released her elbows and collapsed fully to the grass. "Has anyone ever told you that you aren't a complete ass?" she wondered, fond of the slight snicker he made in his chest.

"Na. That's not something I get much, but thanks for the compliment. Mind if I sit?" At Adamine's raised caramel eyebrow he wondered, "What?"

"Huh? Oh. I'm just surprised you asked. You usually just do what you want and to hell with everyone else."

"Mmm. You are right. Well, in that case…" Bickslow sat down before stretching himself out beside Adamine. He put two hands behind his head and propped a knee up. "I'll lay down."

She snickered and let her hands lay out on either side of her. They were close. She could feel his body heat from this distance and smell his skin. He smelt good for someone who'd been trekking through the woods and getting lost several times because of Freed's nonexistent sense of direction.

"Where are your babies?" Adamine wondered.

Instead of answering, Bickslow reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out one of the adorable totems. He tossed it to her, and she caught it carefully.

"Did you make them yourself?" she wondered and rubbed her thumb over the smooth wooden doll. It was hard to believe that this cute item could be made into a Seith mage's weapon. When they were in this state, they looked completely harmless. Then again, it wasn't the doll that was fighting you, it was the spirit possessing it.

"Funny. No one's ever asked me that but yeah. Whittling is a kind of hobby of mine. Doesn't hurt that I can use that to my advantage either." She gently handed the doll back over to him, and he took it, letting his fingers linger against hers for a moment.

Adamine didn't want to explore the feeling that was in her chest, but she couldn't deny it. Being around Bickslow caused a certain girly feeling to rise up inside of her. It was strange since she was independent and lived off the land more than anything because of her travels. The term gender didn't matter when someone was roughing it in the wild. Animals didn't care whether you were male or female. If they were hungry, they would attack you.

It made Adam realize that true equality is treating one person just as shitty as you would the next. No special treatment for differences.

She squeezed her eyes shut hard. People in Lancet thought that they were above nature. They thought that mages were an unnecessary evil to be eradicated from the kingdom. If she went back now, her kingdom would think that she was corrupted, not a part of the pure people. She could stop using her magic, but after living so long dependent upon it, she wouldn't feel whole if she did. Adamine could help her people, but she could only do it through the authority of Gatlin.

Adamine doubted that he would allow her to raise her voice during meetings or when passing laws. The guy was a prick, but if she married him, the country would reunite.

"What's on your mind, Adamine? You're quiet and not the 'I'm planning a creative way to torture Bickslow for being annoying' kind of quiet." He cast his red eyes her way, and he adjusted himself until he was resting his head on his hand.

Heat began to rise on her face, but she returned the look. Instead of turning to her side, she cast him a stubborn gaze he was familiar with. "You didn't say stoner."

"You didn't answer my question."

* * *

Bickslow sat quietly as he awaited Adamine's response. Under the moonlight her pale skin glowed. With this image of her face and her hair pulled back into a loose bun, he could imagine her being the princess she was, but if he looked down to her battle hardened body, to the feminine six pack abs she sported, he knew that she was more than just some spoiled royal.

She was a woman. She was a woman who'd been through a whole lot of shit but could somehow still come out smiling. She'd lost family. She'd lost friends. But, she could still wake up every morning and keep going on her endless journey across kingdoms. As weird as it was to admit it, Adamine Terra was awe inspiring. It was no wonder he was so fond of her.

It was more than just the fact she was the sexiest mage he'd seen with her tight athletic body and soft breasts. It was the fact that she could keep up with his snarky personality and keep him thinking about her even when she was gone for years.

Right now, he wanted nothing more than to reach out and cross the short distance to touch her body, but the somber look in her tired eyes held him back.

He wasn't a sentimental man by any regard. He was sarcastic and lewd. He enjoyed checking out women's bodies in the _Weekly Sorcerer_ and instigating fights, but Adamine held a strange interest for him that made him feel… pretty damned stupid.

"You can tell me anything. We are friends. You know." He'd meant for that to sound gentle. It had come out snarky. _Oops_.

He looked at her chewing on the inside of her lip with her sharp little teeth. Weirdly attractive. She exhaled a gust of breath then rolled over to her side.

"It's my kingdom."

"Yeah. That piece of rock on another continent."

"Humph. Yes, that piece of rock on another continent. Well, it is my piece of rock. Thank you, and I'm the heiress of it." She paused. "But, that's the problem."

"You don't want to be the… heiress. Did I say that right?"

"Heh. Yeah. You did. I don't want to be the next queen, but I feel like I'm being self-centered about it all. While it's true that faking my death will cause them to crown Isaac, I worry that I may be putting too much pressure on him. He wants to rule, yet I know if I just went ahead and married Gatlin the country would rejoin again. There's not only the problem of my kingdom. There's also the problem of Shadow Hunter. I don't know who exactly is after me. It may be Zeref. It may be Gatlin. One wants to be my king. The other wants to be my reaper. I feel like marriage would be better than being murdered by an occultist."

Bickslow felt a strange flare of jealousy for this Gatlin guy. He was obviously an ass undeserving of Adamine, but Bickslow wasn't any more deserving. He had his own share of issues to deal with. Still, he knew he wouldn't subject Adamine to _wife-i-tude_ against her will just to get some authority in a kingdom who thought women were nothing more than incubators. Adam was probably better off away from that royal douche and in Fiore.

Not wanting Adamine to get any more depressed than she already was, Bickslow taunted, "I don't know, stoner. Getting your head lopped off to summon a dragon sounds like a pretty epic way to go. Think about the books people will write about you."

Something hit him in the gut, and he grinned up at Adamine. Her knee was placed firmly into the spot below his sternum. "Ow. I don't think I deserved that. Dragon sacrifice or being subject to a royal asshole's whims for the rest of your life? I'm just stating my opinion. Dragon sacrifice. One hundred percent."

She flashed those pearly white fangs at him, but a shadow crossed over her face. "I don't want to be an omen to anyone anymore. Gajeel and Levy wouldn't be in this situation if I had never shown up with that stupid chunk of rock and book on translations."

Bickslow shook his head. "No. No. That's not true. Being in Fairy Tail is hard work, Adam. Gajeel and Levy getting kidnapped was going to happen eventually. Pretty much all of us take our hits and misses. I've been taken hostage before. It just made me want to get stronger. My motto is shit happens, so you might as well get over it. Besides, I doubt those two are complaining much about being trapped in a jail cell together. They seem to have a thing. I know of several ways I could entertain myself in a cell with a sexy girl." He gave Adamine a pointed look that she didn't seem to get. So, subtly was lost on her. No wonder the Trimen had no effect.

* * *

Adamine tossed herself onto her back to stare at the crescent moon. She was obviously feeling better, but she was still out of it. She looked lost and just a little bit scared.

Feeling completely awkward, Bickslow took her hand in one of his. Her big, green eyes looked up at him in surprise, and leaning closer to her face, he explained, "When the time comes for it, I know I'll be happy to play a part in killing you in front of your kingdom. Just tell me when I need to cut loose."

The sound of a snapping twig captured their attention, and they looked back the way towards camp. Bickslow shook his head and commented, "If you're looking for a show, you came to the wrong place, Freed, Evergreen. Brothel's back west."

After giving Adamine's hand a light squeeze, Bickslow rose and slapped grass off himself. "I'm gunna call it a night, stoner, but don't come crying to me when it gets too dark for you. I know how you get when you hear wolves."

She cast him a grin he didn't see as he walked off to camp.


	12. Dragon Watching

Dragon Watching

The next morning Bickslow wound up waking early. He lifted himself up from the mat he'd laid on the ground to survey his comrades. Freed was still asleep. That made sense. It was still dark out. Evergreen was knocked out. He was surprised she wasn't snarling in her sleep about the fact they were camping out. The woman was resilient but not without preferences. Mina on the other hand was twitching in her sleep. Her lacrimas would glow and fade according to what she was feeling in her dream. She was in a nightmare it seemed since she was turning to stone in places.

He looked to the sky. It wouldn't be too long before the sun came out and Freed went boot camp on everyone. Bickslow was actually happy that he'd woken up before him for once. Freed's optimistic '_Good Morning, Fiore_' personality was not his favorite thing.

Bickslow was a night owl personally. While Freed was running himself on a set day to day schedule Bickslow was out wondering the streets of Magnolia or sitting on the roof of the apartment to look out over the town.

He wondered what Adamine was like first thing in the morning. Every time they'd gone to sleep since she'd been around, they had gotten interrupted by something. First time he had to knock her out. She'd woken up and ran straight into him. The next time Natsu, the Cosplayer, the ice stripper, and Titania had interrupted their sleeping. Bickslow wondered what interesting thing would screw up their sleep this time.

Letting out a long stretch, Bickslow used his magic to make his bedroll pocket-able and tossed on his armor. With his visor securely over his eyes, he cast one last look to his team. They wouldn't be waking up too soon. Perhaps, he could look around and see if there was anything that looked like somewhere a dark guild would hide out at.

Bickslow linked with his totems before setting out into the dawn light.

* * *

Freed's voice was what made Adamine crack her eyes open. Was he doing his boot camp wake up already? There was no way it was morning. She scanned around the camp.

Evergreen had a pillow over her head and was snarling in Freed's direction. Her glasses were placed beside her pallet. Adam wondered if she was going to use her stone eyes to shut him up. Some part of her was hoping so.

Then, another voice joined in with Freed's. It was deep, masculine, and very familiar. She suspected that the owner of the voice had a name that started with _L_ and ended in _axus_. Trying not to get her hopes up, Adamine looked to where Freed was standing. Sure enough, there was another pair of legs there.

Immediately, Adamine leaped up from her pallet to be greeted to the sight of blonde hair and a lightning bolt scar. "Laxus!" she exclaimed and tackled the tall mage.

Arms circled comfortably around her as she was lifted into the air for a bear hug. "Hey there, Adamine! Remind me to cuss you out for ignoring me for two years when I'm not so glad to see you," he greeted then sat her back down on her feet.

"Ha. Sure. I'll try my best not to forget." She turned her head. Something wasn't right here. She looked to where Bickslow should have been sleeping. It wasn't like him to get up early. He was more of a sleep until midday kind of guy. "Where's Bickslow?"

"You don't know?" Freed questioned. "I thought you two were…" He glanced towards Laxus. "He shouldn't have gotten far."

A pillow got thrown, hitting Freed in the shoulder. "Damn it! I'm trying to get some sleep here! Could you shut up now? Please, and thank you," Evergreen protested, snagging the pillow from Adamine's pallet and putting it under her head in a huff. Oh, yeah, Adamine remembered. Evergreen hated camping like this.

The personalities of the Raijinshuu were so different. Freed was the type to plan things and have everything on a schedule. Bickslow played everything by ear and wandered off when he felt the urge. Evergreen was opinionated and got up when she felt like it.

Everything was made even more interesting when Laxus was around. He was opinionated and a night owl and got up when he decided he felt like it. Add Adam into the mix, and it just got worse. Right now, though, she was just glad to be reunited with everyone. Her own issues would show up later like turning into a demon when woke up too early.

Something rustled in the bushes, causing everyone to tense up until Bickslow appeared with an orange in his hand. At the looks he was getting, he responded, "What? I got hungry."

After peeling the orange, he mentioned, "Oh, yeah. I found the place where Shadow Hunter is holding Gajeel and Levy. Made some friends while I was at it. Babies?" Bickslow's totems appeared with two tied up mages in tow. "These guys said there's a cave behind a waterfall up the river."

Laxus gave a nod then looked to Freed. The green haired mage was looking curiously from Bickslow to Adamine. Had something gone on between them while he was looking for them?

Adamine was blushing faintly, but that could just be from the humidity here. Her typical camouflage headband was made into a makeshift hair bow. It revealed the flush from her face to her chest.

Freed had explained to Laxus that she hadn't aged since she'd been on Tenrou looking for Zeref, and that explained her appearance. What it didn't explain was that she looked stronger, more determined. It looked good on her. Apparently, Bickslow thought so as well since his head was tilted in her direction.

Adamine gave Bickslow a soft smile. "You were apparently busy this morning. Did you have time to check the waterfall to make sure they weren't messing with us?" Yeah, Laxus analyzed, something was different between those two.

Bickslow gave a nod, not saying much. Now, that was weird.

* * *

Bickslow could feel Laxus looking at him as the group made their way through the woods towards the river.

Up ahead, Evergreen and Adamine were chitchatting like they used to do. They were undoubtedly planning how to torment some poor unsuspecting male or they were talking about the new relationship that Evergreen thought she was keeping on the down low. They were probably planning how to torment Elfman. Yes, that made sense.

Freed was beside Laxus. He was chattering about something, but Laxus was still keeping his sights on Bickslow. He could just feel it.

Suddenly, a hand appeared on Bickslow's shoulder, and Laxus stepped beside him. "So, did you and Adam screw, or is my sexual tension radar off?" he wondered.

"Ha. No. We didn't screw though I wouldn't be opposed to it." He glanced towards Adamine. She was sweating in this humidity. A particular trail of moisture ran down her spine before slipping against the fabric of her knee length shorts. Who knew that a girl who could get sustenance from eating rocks could be hot?

"Uh. Huh. Well, something happened because you're acting weird, and Adamine doesn't look so… depressed." Laxus glanced to what Bickslow was analyzing, finding the slick spot of sweat on her back. "The two of you did something, and I wanna know."

Embarrassed, Bickslow grumbled, "I just told her not to be so depressed all the time. That's it."

Laxus wasn't buying that. "She going to join the guild?"

"No."

"Kiss her?"

"No."

"Then what the hell has you acting so damned weird? Wait. You caught her in the shower. Didn't you?"

"No. Damn it."

"She caught you in the shower?"

Now, Bickslow shuffled a step. Ah. Was that it? Interesting. Laxus wondered how that turned out. After a second of silence, Bickslow responded, "No."

"Gah. I feel like Evergreen prying for details. Tell me already before I feel like I've been reduced to gay friend status."

That finally got Bickslow to let out a laugh. An extremely yaoi version of Laxus embracing Freed flashed into his brain. For that, Bickslow may give some minor details. "I guess you can say a lot happened, but nothing added up to anything. She was freaking out about finding Gajeel and Levy, so I used my Figure Eyes on her and knocked her out once we got to my apartment. When she woke up, she ran into me when I was half naked. She slept in my lap two nights ago. Last night she was upset, so we talked until Freed and Evergreen started spying on us." He cast Freed a glower that the mage couldn't see behind Bickslow's visor.

"Huh. Sounds like it took you twelve years to finally make some progress with her," Laxus commented, taking Bickslow off guard. He wasn't going to make fun of him? That was a surprise. "Think she'll join the guild?"

"I actually don't know. She's different. Did Freed fill you in on the details?" Laxus nodded. "Yeah, she's talking like she wants to stay in Fiore and give her crown up to some cousin named Isaac. Also, she thinks that if her fiancée," he snarled the word, "isn't the one coming for her that it's some cult that thinks her dragon will make a desert a paradise for them. Apparently, it is either death by dragon sacrifice or be a rich man's plaything for the rest of her life. I told her the sacrifice was the smarter way to go."

Laxus snickered. "Tch. You would. She'd be good in the guild. Actually, I would like to see her in the Raijinshuu."

"Thinking like a guild master already?"

"Of course." Laxus slapped his friend on the back. "I've got an idea. You seduce her then she'll want to join the guild. It's perfect. You get the girl. I get a new warrior. Adamine's not depressed anymore. It's a triple win for all three of us."

Bickslow watched Adamine lean down to scoop up a handful of water and bring it to her lips. She'd tied her shirt up to reveal the indentions of her abdomen. It was a distracting sight. "You know, Laxus. I think that's the best idea you've had since the Grand Magic Games."

* * *

**So, what do y'all think? Did I get out of character with Laxus? He's kind of a tough one for me. He's one part arrogant asshole, two parts stud muffin, and three parts caring leader. I hope that you enjoyed. Until next time. Which could honestly be tomorrow since I've been on a roll. Whoop! Adamine out.**


	13. Revenge

Revenge

Adamine glanced behind her to see Bickslow, Freed, and Laxus appearing from thick, green foliage. They were in a thickly forested region of Fiore, and it was midsummer. Wildflowers were in full bloom. Everything held a vibrant green like pure life. It was in places like this where she was the most powerful as an Adamantine Dragon Slayer.

She was in her element, the element of untamed wilderness.

It brought back fond memories of living with Firmalione and being attacked over and over again to toughen up. The adamantine scaled dragon's claws would glisten with their diamond points. Her mighty tail would swing to knock Adamine's body backwards against trees. Adamine would summon the rocks to rise from the earth or call upon the tectonic plates to create mighty caverns in the earth.

The rocks were her element. She was a part of the stone that made up the center of Earthland. Her body could mold with the grey, the diamond, and the adamantine.

She drank deeply of the water in her palm, losing herself in memories of the past. When she scooped up minerals in her palms, she didn't even pause in her consumption. She just chewed the stones up with her powerful fangs. Who knew that eating rocks could be so romantic?

"So here we have a dragon and a fairy drinking from the river. Should I start playing the harp, or can we get going?" Bickslow commented, getting Adamine to stick her tongue out in his direction. He just snorted.

Evergreen cast him a haughty look then pointed towards a waterfall. Bickslow had said that the mages Laxus and Freed had tied up in a tree had a hide out behind a waterfall. Adamine just hoped that Gajeel and Levy were there.

The weird thing was that there didn't appear to be any guards around. She cast a scowl then reached for one of her earrings. Before anyone could ask, Adamine commanded, "Lacrima of Lione, find the ones I seek. Script mage and Iron Dragon Slayer, lost fairies of Fiore."

Her emerald lacrima gave out a pulse as if it was obeying then Adam watched it hover like one of Bickslow's dolls before the light completely faded out of it. The lacrima fell down as if a soul had departed from it, and everyone raised their gazes towards a small stone that shot behind the waterfall. Adamine clipped the circular lacrima back onto its silver chain.

"What was that? Seith magic?" Freed questioned.

"Mmm? Oh. Na. It is just a little something Firmalione taught me. Since I'm a master over rocks, I can use certain ones to do some spying for me. Diamonds are the best for spying since they have a high luster. If we wait a little bit, I'll be able to show you the reflections it catches." Adamine glanced to the Raijinshuu and Laxus. They were eyeing her with some kind of new regard. Apparently, Adam had just proved once again that she was useful to them.

The sound of a falling rock echoed behind the roar of the waterfall, and Adamine unclipped the lacrima at her throat. It was the largest one that she wore.

She gently tossed it upwards to where everyone could see what was going on.

* * *

The sound of a rock bounding down the stone steps caught Gajeel's attention, and he lifted his head. He was tired, weary. Bruises dotted his face from being beaten down every time he tried to get to Levy. That damned Exceed looking dog kept him back. When he would try to kick her ass, she would just withdraw the strange staff that shrunk and grew according to her size.

Gajeel had no idea what the real purpose for that staff was, but he assumed that it must have been pretty important. It was well decorated and looked to be carved out of stone. There was a long cut at the upper part of the staff. Gajeel wondered what was supposed to come out from or lock into there.

The sound of the bouncing rock came even closer, and Gajeel glanced down to where Levy was lying unconscious. Her head was on his thigh. It didn't look like she was going to be moving much this morning. The diamond had landed right in front of her, and she hadn't moved.

She had come back later than usual. Gajeel had guessed that it was around three or four in the morning before she'd finally been drug half asleep into their stone cell.

He had to get them out of here. That Kalin bastard would be back in here at any time to wake Levy up and take her back to wherever it was he took her. She never came back hurt, just tired. Only Gajeel was the one getting beaten, and that was just because he always fought to escape whenever the cell door opened up.

Light poured in from the robed man opening the door to the underground cells. At his entrance, torches began to light themselves. The flames danced across Levy's unconscious body, and Gajeel wrapped himself protectively around the short mage.

Kalin didn't have Black Pearl with him. This time he came down with another mage that Gajeel had been forced to get used to and a brand new one. The man was named Acteon. Gajeel didn't know what the robed woman was named. She had a tattoo on the side of her face of a tribal dragon.

Gajeel had seen several of those. He could count about five, six now that he'd seen this new woman. There was something odd about the marking. It was only on women. There weren't any men who bore the marking.

Hell, what did it even matter? This was a dark guild. They were probably concubines or something. Gajeel remembered hearing somewhere that in certain societies women of pleasure were marked with brands as a way of belittling them and keeping them in that low cast of society. Maybe, this guild was into that kind of thing.

Kalin stepped closer to the cell and grinned at the diamond by Levy's face. Was it important in some way?

The male mage mentioned, "She is here. I can feel her."

"Perfect. Is she alone?" Kalin asked.

The Acteon mage lifted his head and sniffed the air. "No. I smell one, two, no, four others. One of them smells like a dragon slayer."

"Hmm. Three dragon slayers. I want all of them on the altars. Since the girl has translated the spell, I believe we should be able to catch at least one dragon's attention." Kalin leaned towards the bars, looking towards the diamond instead of Gajeel or Levy. He chimed, "Gather your team, Acteon. I want to give our beloved Adamine a welcome home party she will never forget."

* * *

Laxus watched the image on the lacrima with interest. Humph. If that creep thought he could take out Laxus, then he had another thing coming to him. If the rest of those mages were as pathetic as the two Bickslow and his babies had captured, then this would be a walk in the park. He doubted he'd even need the Raijinshuu's assistance.

When Adamine gave a short gasp from her lips, Laxus decided to look towards the Adamantine Dragon Slayer. Her hands were shaking though she tried to hide it, and her lacrima were flashing with her emotion. The picture on the floating one shut off, and she quickly latched it onto the silver chain hanging from her leather choker.

Adamine stared quietly at the spot her lacrima had been floating. That was it. That was the place. That was the place where those horrible things had happened to her and the other girls.

They had been stripped of their clothes, put in white dresses, and locked away. They had gone without normal food. The hooded men and women had given the girls strange plants to eat. Plants that made them hallucinate. Each girl had been pressed down on a stone altar where they were tattooed on their faces. It had all been so frightening to five year old Adamine.

She nervously ran her fingernails against each other and looked towards the waterfall. Gajeel and Levy were in there. Levy had interpreted the spell on the tablet. Gajeel was battered despite his power as an Iron Dragon Slayer. A team would soon be out to greet Adamine, the Raijinshuu, and Laxus.

Adamine was frozen to the ground until a comforting hand squeezed her shoulder. It was Laxus. "How about we go kick some ass and get revenge on those creeps for screwing with you, Adam?"

She cast him a nervous glance and looked to her comrades. Bickslow stood eager to fight. His tongue hung out and his babies cheered, "Revenge!" Evergreen looked determined as never before. Freed had a darkness in his eyes that was ready to be unlocked for anyone who decided to go against his comrades. Laxus was ready to go. Electricity sparked around him.

Adamine had no right to be nervous with such powerful allies. Slapping a grin on her face, Adamine remembered something that Natsu had given her before she'd left Clover Town. She had been dying to try this out.

Snickering like her allies, Adamine responded, "I'm ready to kick some ass."

With Laxus leading the way, Freed right beside him, the group began to walk across the river. The enemy now knew they were here. An attack was soon to begin. Adamine just had no idea when such a thing would happen.

Currently, all she could hear was the crashing of the waterfall. Birds were chirping in the distance. A few fish splashed against the surface of the water when she leaped from one slippery rock to the next.

She could smell flowers, water, and her teammates' various scents. If anything was going to happen, she or Laxus would know before anyone else. They were both dragon slayers, and although she was raised by Firmalione and had adamantine lacrima to mediate her power, Laxus was different. He didn't have lightning lacrima to mediate him. His lacrima was implanted into him, something that Adamine had only recently learned was done to people.

There were other people like him, Adamine remembered. During the Grand Magic Games, Adamine had seen two dragon slayers, Sting and Rogue, who had been implanted with dragon lacrima. She had yet to discover anyone who needed their powers mitigated by the effects of jewelry-like lacrima.

Firmalione had explained to her once before that she had one of the most powerful dragon slayer type magic. Her power to move the stones of the earth according to her will and be able to coat her body in such stone was something that was both advantageous and disastrous. Knowing she had such a power had made Adamine immediately disappointed in herself that she hadn't joined Fairy Tail in the battle against the seven dragons. She had been in Lancet at the time, making sure that no one would assassinate her cousin for his potential position as king.

Adamine glanced down to the many emerald lacrima she wore because Firmalione demanded for her to mediate her strength. She felt like she had a crutch.

Before she could get too distracted by her wandering thoughts, Adamine snapped, "Stop!" Her head whipped up to where the waterfall was, and inches in front of Laxus the falls expanded, covering the entrance with water so fast it could cut skin.

Apparently, the fighting was about to begin.

"You did good to sense my trap, Adamine," a voice called out, and everyone looked to the top of the falls. Five hooded strangers stood in a line. One man reached to the hood that shadowed his face then revealed his calm visage. "I am Acteon of the Lancet Quintet, second in command to Master Kalin, leader of the Lancet Dragon Priests."

Adamine glared up at the five standing over them. There were five of them on the waterfall and five standing at the edge of the river. They were equally matched.

Acteon shoved his hand out from his cloak to point towards Adamine. "You are the child of Firmalione, dragon goddess of the earth. It is because she spared you that our country is in turmoil, that our lands bear no crops to sustain our livelihoods. Tonight, on the night of the waxing crescent moon, you and the other dragon slayers shall be sacrificed to return life to our deadened lands."

He looked like he was about to say more before Laxus snarled, "Listen, man, as much as I get that every bad guy loves to have a big long speech, I'm too busy for this shit, so get down here and fight me!"

Acteon let a strange grin run up his face. "So be it then." His arm went up, and four cloaked mages leaped down from the top of the falls. "To enter the Dragon Chamber you must defeat all five of us. If you succeed, my spell will release from this waterfall and give you access to your comrades, but when you fail, you will be sacrificed to the dragon Firmalione."


	14. Stone Cold

Stone Cold

Acteon snapped his fingers, and Adamine gaped at her comrades. Their bodies were abruptly surrounded by geysers that sprouted up from the river they were crossing. "Adamine!" Evergreen exclaimed, reaching her hand out to her ally. Her fingers touched the water then ripped backwards when a sharp jolt of pain ran up her arm. The water had cut her fingertips.

"What did you do to them?" Adam cried and lunged for her friend. She turned her hand to stone and tried to reach in to pull Evergreen out. She hissed a curse when the geyser shaved off the tips of her own fingers. "Let them go!"

"Ah, Princess Erianna, I'm sorry, but I have rules for this contest. If I don't seal your friends, they might try to help you. I'm only being fair. You will fight until you can't fight anymore. Then, you will switch out with a comrade of my choosing." He turned his head towards one of the four warriors standing in front of the waterfall. "Let the match commence, Black Pearl."

Erianna? Black Pearl? Was that Adamine's real name? Did her companion, Pearl, not die in Akane twelve years ago?

Those questions couldn't be answered because one of the cloaked mages ran lunged towards Adamine. She quickly turned to stone. Her arm came up to guard herself from the swing of a staff. Just when Adamine was about to move to attack, a shockingly familiar voice commanded, "Ignite Blaze Scythe!"

Flames burst from a slot in the staff, and Adamine's stone arm was lit on fire by a flaming blade. Ignoring the flames disappearing from her stone arm, Adamine thrust her hand out to snatch the hood of the mage. She had to know.

With a snarl and yank, Adamine's claws shred through the black material to reveal an instantly recognizable wolfy face. "P-Pearl," Adamine stammered as the back of the scythe jabbed Adam in the gut.

She was sent flying backwards towards the water. "Stone Pillar Vertical!" Adamine sunk her claws into an extending rock that reached up to her. Whipping her body around, Adamine perched herself atop the pillar like a dragon atop a castle. "You're alive," she breathed.

"Yes, I'm alive. After twelve years, you finally figured it out!" Black Pearl snarled and leaped towards Adamine. Her stone and fire scythe made an audible hiss as it slashed through the space Adamine had once occupied.

The wolf bared her fangs at Adamine and slashed again. She cried, "You left me out there to die after that demon attacked me! I waited for you! I waited for five whole years believing you'd return for me! You never did, traitor! Had it not been for the Lancet Dragon Priests finding me, I would have never lived this long, and I've been stuck in this state ever since!" She kept slashing and slashing away. Flames appeared all over the scythe. They even began to light up around Pearl's clawed feet.

Adamine continued to dodge. She extended stone blades from her lower arms and met Pearl hit for hit. Each slash was stronger than the last. Waves of pain began to run up Adamine's arms from the strength needed to defend herself instead of striking out against her old friend.

"I had thought you were dead!" Adamine explained. "Even after I'd killed that demon, I'd searched for you! I looked for you for months after the attack! I didn't eat. I didn't sleep. I had no clue that you were alive, Pearl. I'm sorry!"

Pearl distracted Adamine with a slash of her scythe then took the opportunity to knee the dragon slayer in the gut. Adamine released a gust of air and plummeted from her pillar. The wolf thrust the handle of the scythe against Adamine's throat. Leaning closely to her ex-ally's face, Pearl snarled, "Sorry isn't good enough!"

Adamine gripped the scythe that was strangling her and surmised that words weren't going to help in this. With regret she flipped Pearl onto her back and gave a Glasgow kiss to the wolf's forehead.

Pearl leaped quickly up from the dirt, using her lower legs to propel her upwards. She kicked Adamine then sliced some of her hair off with the burning blade. "Stop dodging me! Fight me like you mean it!"

Adamine gave a glance over to her comrades. They were still trapped in the geysers. Although they were trying to get out, all they were doing was hurting themselves. It was no good. She was going to have to fight the wolven mage.

When the scythe came down once more, Adamine quickly rolled over and shouted, "Roar of the Adamantine Dragon!" A powerful blast of air shot through the air. Pearl's body went flying, but she steadied herself by digging her burning scythe into the dirt on the side of the river.

"You're still holding back, Adamine!" Pearl cried, shocking the captive audience. "Blade of the Fallen Angel, Heaven's Wrath!" She cut her scythe diagonally into the air, releasing a powerful blast of fire.

"Shield of Lione!" Adam bit out, feeling her stony scales getting singed by the flames. What kind of fire could singe rock? Was that really the Scythe of the Fallen? Adamine's scales expanded, reaching out to create two half shields that she fused together by placing her arms side by side. "Stone Pillar Horizontal," she cried out to the rocks that made up the walls around the waterfall.

Pearl took a direct hit to the face, thus making her flames disappear. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Adamine dashed in close. She turned the tips of her elbows into dull points then thrust them down onto Pearl's chest, but it was a trap.

Easily, Pearl grabbed Adamine's wrists and flung them to either side of the woman. Her head lashed upwards to return the Glasgow kiss she'd been given, and Pearl swept Adamine's feet out from underneath her.

Adamine hissed at the sound of something snapping in her ankle but took the opportunity to mold herself with the rock bed she was laying atop. Stone spears leaped up to stab underneath an unsuspecting Black Pearl.

After taking a hit, Pearl snarled, "Tch. I don't think so. You aren't going to win until I bust up every single one of your lacrimas!"

She dashed for the scythe that had fallen from her hands. After scooping it up, she strategically stabbed it into a portion of the rock bed.

The tip of the scythe imbedded itself into the largest lacrima, the one around Adamine's neck. Her entire body instantly convulsed, and she was repelled from the rocks like they had thrown them out of her.

Pearl gave snicker then lunged herself at the seizing dragon slayer. She could hear the frantic cries of her allies, ones she'd made in place of Pearl. They deserved to see her like this. Adamine deserved to feel pain such as this. Twelve years Pearl had been living with the people that sought to kill Adamine. She had originally been tortured for information on the whereabouts of her colleague, but once they realized Pearl had been abandoned, they had taken her in as one of their own. Pearl was a Lancet Dragon Priest now, and she would summon Firmalione just to spite Adamine and her betrayal.

But, as she charged, she began to falter. Her ex-companion was convulsing on the ground. She thrashed from some unseen source of pain. Her eyes glowed feverishly, slanting more than usual. Adamine's fangs were no longer the fangs of a dragon slayer. They looked to be the fangs of an actual dragon. Strange stone protrusions were growing from her body.

It looked like Adamine's body was creating scaled armor for itself. Rigid spikes jutted through the leather of her vest. Small, craggy stalagmites rose from her shoulders.

Pearl lunged towards another lacrima, about to pierce it with her blade until her body was launched backwards.

As if possessed Adamine rose from her spot on the ground. She reached her hand out, grabbing Pearl by the throat before she could hit the rocks. "Fangs of the Blazing Adamantine Dragon!" this glassy eyed version of Adamine demanded of her magic.

Fire began to dance along Adamine's skin, and the woman opened up her mouth, revealing those elongated teeth. With a wide eyed gulp, Pearl braced for impact. She just knew that those teeth were going to sink down into her furry flesh, but they never did.

Fire whipped all around Adamine's body; it even licked the skin of the hand holding Pearl up by the throat. When Pearl opened up one scarlet eye, she gaped at the carnage behind her.

A normal shout of the Adamantine Dragon was releasing itself from Adamine's opened mouth, but it was coated over in dancing flames. Shooting out towards Acteon and his three allies.

Acteon and his three companions had dodged the blow, but the gaping hole where they had been standing was evidence enough that they would have disintegrated if they'd been hit.

Carefully, Adamine let Pearl down towards the ground. She stepped in front of Pearl's body with those glassy eyes still in place then stretched out two arms. Her thick, stone armor glinted in diamond rays all across her stone skin. She looked like a warrior princess about to take on an army. For the first time in twelve years, Pearl felt like she was looking up at the same girl who'd rescued her from vulcans.

Pearl shook her head. No! Adamine was not the girl that had saved her all those years ago. This was Erianna now. Adamine was just a figment, some hero Pearl had made up to feel adoration to an uncaring woman… a woman who had only been picking up a battered dog to collect some coin from frightened villagers.

Taking Adamine's turned back as an opportunity, Pearl lunged quickly upwards and ran her blade into Adamine's scaly skin. Her blow took away another one of the seven lacrima that sealed Adamine's curse away, the secret weakness that only the Lancet Dragon Priests knew.

A howl of pain, more like the roar of a dragon, passed through Adamine's lips, and Pearl was blown back when a stony wing ripped from Adamine's back. She had broken the seal on Adamine's left wrist, the seal of the left wing.

Gasps escaped from the crowd, but it was Pearl who Adamine turned on. The flames that Adamine had somehow collected crackled around her body like that other slayer's lightening. There was nowhere for Pearl to escape when Adamine scooped Pearl up by the shirt she wore.

In a voice that Pearl had never before heard from Adamine, the slayer snarled, "I see that you are more trouble than you are worth, wolf creature. My child desires for me not to kill you but be warned. Break one more seal upon my child's body, and I will break every bone in your flimsy, size changing body."

An audible gulp could be heard from the wolf's lips when Adamine's clawed fingertips dropped her to the ground. With the soul piercing stare that flashed through Pearl's vision, the wolf went stone cold.

Before the eyes of everyone around them, the Exceed-like wolf's flesh was turned to stone. It didn't even inch up the body of the wolf, and it wasn't a shell of stone like Evergreen's Stone Eyes. The very blood cells that ran through Pearl's body went still all the way down to the atoms that made them up.

When Adamine looked towards her enemies this time, they didn't see a dragon slayer. They saw the dragon that had raised her.


	15. Soul of a Dragon

Soul of a Dragon

Gajeel stared at the diamond that Levy held in her hands. It wasn't just any diamond. It was a magic infused video recorder like lacrima TV. From the scattered shards of the lacrima that Pearl had busted from Adamine's chest, Gajeel and Levy could see many angles of Adamine's battle with the Lancet Quintet.

"Gajeel, her slayer abilities aren't normal. Are they?" Levy asked. She was flipping through a book that she had brought back with her. It was one of the tomes that had been in Adamine's messenger bag. The book she was reading was titled, The Dragon Goddess Firmalione: Theories on Lancet Sacrifice.

He glanced back up to the diamond between Levy's fingers. After a shake of his pierced head, he mentioned, "No. I haven't seen any slayer who could move their element, just be made out of it. I can't make the metal in the earth shoot out to hit my enemies. She's different."

Gajeel, too, had a book in front of him. His was from Adamine's bag as well. It was a recording of the abilities of dragon slayers. Even from reading a piece here and there, he read nothing about the abilities that Adamine had.

Gajeel could launch himself into the air, but he didn't grow wings. He could turn his body into iron scales, but he never looked possessed when doing it. Unconsciously, Gajeel gave a gulp. Whatever this Adamine or Erianna girl was, she wasn't just a normal dragon slayer. She looked just like a dragon.

* * *

Bickslow looked towards the dragon slayer. She was decked out from head to toe in adamantine scales. They glinted vividly in the sunlight and made a threatening armor display across her skin.

On her shoulders were lustrous spiky points that had ripped through her leather vest and shirt. Adamantine spikes had shred through the back of her tattered vest. She bore claws on her hands and feet. A single shining wing had burst from back.

He had always known that Adamine was a little different from any dragon slayer he had ever met. He had also always known that her soul was different from those slayers as well, but he had never suspected that there could be an actual dragon's soul living inside of her body.

From the view given to him by his eye magic, Bickslow could see Adamine's strange looking soul. It was green but layered in grey. Just like the armor she sported, Adamine's feminine silhouette of a spirit had jagged protrusions sticking out at the shoulders. Her soul looked like it was too big for her body. It expanded all around her like an aura only he could see.

A voice broke him from his concentration, and Bickslow retracted his Figure Eye magic to look at Evergreen. "What the hell is going on with her Bickslow? That is not Adamine!" Freed and Laxus looked to the Seith Mage. They, too, had been studying Adamine's new appearance.

"I don't know. Her soul was always a little different, but I've never seen anything like it. It's like there's two souls inside of her."

"Two souls? What is that supposed to mean?" Freed asked from Bickslow's left. They were all encompassed in a deadly geyser and were having to yell just to get over the sound of the roaring, upwards flowing current.

"Like I said, I don't know. I want to say that it's a dragon soul because it's too big for her body, but hell if I know. Laxus? Do you know anything about this? You're a dragon slayer."

He pointed to the scar across his eye. "Only because of this lacrima. Adam's gone through some weird shit as a kid. Maybe, it's because of that."

* * *

Adamine's pointed ears twitched. She could hear everything. She heard the roar of the geysers. She heard the group of mages behind her. They were discussing her. Humph. Mortals. They would never understand the complexities of a dragon's magic.

There were only a certain few who would ever be chosen to be raised by dragons. Adamine had been the perfect human. She had been young, impressionable, and eager to learn despite the fear in her eyes. Teaching the young child the ways of dragons had been beneficial to her.

Firmalione had managed to get attached to the cute babe, and despite Igneel's command to never interfere with the humans, Firmalione had went against the snarling male. In order to protect her child, Firmalione had snuck her way inside of Adamine's body through the lacrima.

Now, the dragon turned her eyes to the ones who had threatened her child. There were many reasons that Firmalione had commanded Adamine to wear the lacrima, and these humans were trying to destroy them.

They were trying to release a power that was far beyond their understanding, the power of dragon and human Soul Link. It was a power forbidden even by the dragons to use, but Firmalione had done it when Igneel had made his command to leave on 777. It was her way of hiding from the male dragon forever. Adamine's body and magical abilities weren't ready for the lacrima to be released.

At least now, Adamine had Natsu's flames, a gift given between two dragon slayers. The bursting of Adamine's lacrima would have already released the seal, but because Natsu had given Adamine his power, he had boosted Firmalione's child to a level where she could hold strong against the assault on her magic power.

The male named Acteon caught Firmalione's attention, and she whipped Adamine's head in that direction. The arrogant male clapped. "Wonderful, Erianna. Absolutely wonderful. This is the first time I've experienced a dragon slayers' powers first hand. You did not disappoint. Now, let's keep this competition going. I want to see how a Seith Mage will do against a dragon slayer."

Firmalione braced. She hated Seith Mages. The only reason that she allowed Adamine to even be around the one who called himself Bickslow was because he had helped Adamine in a time of need. Any other time, Firmalione would have convinced Adamine to leave him. Or kill him.

"Dova, please be a dear and put this woman in her place so we can summon Firmalione," Acteon stated to the mage who was revealing her face.

A short girl stood in front of the high speed falls. With two hands on either side of the hood she wore, this Dova revealed a pale face with vivid, purple eyes. Short, choppy locks danced all around her small skull, and she wore skeletal make up on her face. It darkened her eyes and paled her skin.

The girl cracked a smile with her painted lips, and in a haunting voice explained, "I will be the one to destroy all of your lacrima. Besides, you dying is the least you can do to repay me for what you've done. Haunted Rapture!" Dova lifted both hands up before separating them underneath the sun. A beam of purple light erupted then anticlimactically fizzled out into firework sparks.

Still, Firmalione was braced. She knew Seith Mages were more trouble than they were worth. They controlled the dead, could be possessed by the dead, and absorb the souls of the living, so when a pair of skeletal paws burst up from the earth to snag at Adamine's ankles, Firmalione propelled their shared body skywards.

"Not so fast, slayer," Dova murmured in that spooky, light voice of hers. Her purple eyes looked to the animal skeletons that had risen. There was an interesting collection. A panther had been the one clawing at Adam's leg. A skeletal hawk flapped its bony wings. A snake slithered up the pillar Adamine had made of the rock bed. Firmalione felt like she was watching Pet Cemeterywhen a deceased coyote ventured its muddy way in.

Firmalione didn't have time to deal with this. The longer that she stayed at the fore of Adamine's body, the more her spirit would overtake the girl's. It was why Firmalione stayed asleep at the back of Adam's mind. That way, she could never harm her child.

She stretched Adam's claw tipped fingers outwards. Flames danced in a spiral along her slender arm. They licked and teased the air while caressing stone flesh. "Talons of the Blazing Adamantine dragon!" Firmalione exclaimed. Both hands came down, sending ten waves of fire and stone down upon the skeletons. The bodies shattered. Humph. If that's all that mage had, then she had better back down now.

Firmalione leaped in a graceful arc down to her enemy, and like the dragon she was, she sank claws into the shoulders of the Seith Mage. The frightened young girl barked, "Soul Trap!" but it was too late.

The soul that Dova was attempting to steal within herself was already entrapped by another. Right when the girl's purple eyes had fired, Bickslow had activated his Figure Eyes.

* * *

Bickslow's entire body jolted when Adamine's emerald eyes looked straight at him. He hadn't known what else to do than activate his magic when Dova was about to use her own. Although Adamine wasn't in control of her own body, the too large soul knew what he could do. Apparently, he had been right to assume she had wanted him to possess her.

Using his control over Adamine, he got the girl to look back towards Dova. Before he could bark out the command to get her to do whatever she had to the now frozen Exceed/wolf, the girl's body had frozen solid. Two down and three more to go.

* * *

**This chapter was a rather tough one for me. I'm getting a little lost on how to continue with the battles. I want Adamine to lose all of her lacrima for her dragon to be released, but I am having difficulty writing suspenseful battles. If anyone has advice on how to better my action while expanding on the plot, please leave a review. Also, I want to know what you think I should do to continue. Expand on romance? Delve into the strife in her kingdom? Release Gajeel and Levy from their prison? Thank you for following, favoriting, and just plain reading. Have a lovely day. :)**


	16. Where Gods Fall and Dragons Soar

Where Gods Fall and Dragons Soar

Bickslow retracted his control over Adamine, but it wasn't before Acteon took notice. The mage gave a solemn shake of his head then snapped his fingers. The geyser convulsed inwards to slice through Bickslow's armored body. The scent of blood filled Firmalione's senses, and she glanced towards Bickslow holding his bloodied arm.

"Tch. Didn't I say that these battles were to be one on one? If you don't obey the rules then prepare to suffer the consequences," Acteon said simply.

Bickslow just made his mouth a flat line. He'd heard that before. Similar words came from Freed's lips often. Bickslow just never would have guessed that he would have to hear them from an enemy.

Acteon made a hand gesture and another one of the hooded group came forward. "Evangeline, I don't want her to get any further. We need to get rid of these pests quickly," Acteon explained, but Adamine's eyes were looking towards her comrade.

His arm was bleeding wickedly. The totems he controlled were dancing around him in concern. The sight was causing Adamine's soul to wrestle with Firmalione's for control. That was good. It meant that her soul was still strong, that it had a high rate of regaining control of their shared body when Firmalione receded back.

Bickslow caught Adam's eye. He explained, "Make her your bitch, Mina."

Firmalione gave a short nod, and braced for her next opponent. This woman was tall and tan. When she tossed her cloak to the ground, she revealed a white dress like the ones worn on the altars. More memories flashed through Adamine's mind against Firmalione's will

* * *

_The stone was freezing. My heart was beating in my chest rapidly. Cold sweat beaded across my face. I didn't know where I was. I didn't know who I was. One moment I had been in a lavish castle. The next everything had gone black. I didn't know my name, but I knew I was a princess. I just didn't know of what country. Amnesia? I didn't even know what that word meant._

_Momma. Da. I didn't know who they were, but my five year old mind cried for them. The tears came. I let 'em flow._

_Strange cuffs were on our wrists. A man pressed something against my mouth. I screamed. I clawed the stone. There was chanting like some kind of strange worship._

_Other girls were around me. I didn't know them. They cried too. They screamed loudly. It scared me. I was just a kid. Why was I here? I didn't understand any of this._

_I breathed in the strange substance on the cloth. Mind dizzy. Thoughts fading. Arms heavy. Fight weakening. Darkness came up to me with outstretched arms. The darkness promised escape, and I ran towards it, inhaling the substance deeper until the dark reaper wrapped his arms around me._

_I clung to him and buried my face into the folds of his cloak when pain erupted across my eye. To the sounds of screaming, I fell into darkness._

* * *

Firmalione forced the memories away with a snarl on Adamine's pink lips. No! No! She would not relive those moments. Not now. It caused her control to slip, for her talons to sharpen. Any more of those memories, and the lacrima would break on their own. The seal that kept them in place was so fragile. Strong emotions could break them with ease.

The remaining lacrima on Adamine's body glowed feverishly. The conflict between the dragon soul and the twenty year old girl was waging a war inside Adamine's body.

To break Firmalione's train of thought, the girl before her withdrew a blade. There were plenty of enemies that could use blades. Requip mages were the most prominent in Firmalione's memory, but when the girl dug the tip of the blade into her fingertip, she realized what she was up against.

"Harken unto me gods of the ancients. I am a dweller between worlds. With the Unholy Prayer I summon thee, Ares!" The woman splattered her blood upon the ground where Adamine's green eyes watched an armored god flash down in a flurry of flames.

The god stood at least three feet taller than Adamine's average height. Withdrawing a massive sword, he braced his legs for battle then charged forward with an unholy roar.

Flames licked at his feet with every step. Powerful mounds of muscle flexed in every movement. Curse the bitch. Her magic was that of the gods, God Summoning.

Firmalione shoved one hand into the rock and extended her one wing. Using the power she had obtained from the other dragon slayer, Adamine's stony scales lit up in flames. "Extension Blade of the Blazing Adamantine Dragon!" Firmalione growled, voice more animalistic than Adamine's proper Lancet dialect.

Her scales enlarged, lengthening to create a greater reach. Sending herself into a vicious spin, Adamine shoved herself off from the dirt and towards her attacker. Ares gave a snarl before snagging Adamine's ankle and the lacrima upon it.

His cruel grip crushed the lacrima on her ankle then he launched Adamine against a tree. As an armored tail erupted from the base of Adam's spine, the girl's back snapped against a tree. "ADAMINE!" Laxus roared when the sound caught his ears.

The man dared to push through the geyser, only slashing himself from the currents. Laxus's massive fist punched the water. "Damn it all! Adamine, don't you dare die on us!" he howled.

Sliding down the tree trunk, Adamine opened her bleary eyes. She had a battle to win. She had friends to rescue. She had to prove her innocence to Fairy Tail, and she'd be damned if she died before she got to see her country freed from tyranny.

Firmalione stood Adamine up on quivering legs. The muscles twitched and shivered, but she stood up bravely. Spitting blood out of her mouth, Adamine looked at her oncoming opponent.

Ares had raised his sword and was going for a diagonal slash. Instead of dashing away or raising her adamantine shield, she curled into fetal position. With her body turned to stone, she could only wince at the heated blow sinking against her back. Her spine was brutally battered, but Adamine still announced, "Spines of the Adamantine Dragon!"

At each vertebrae stone spines erupted from Adamine's back. They slashed through her already ruined clothing and sunk deeply into Ares's sword arm. The god could do little but bash his shield against Adamine.

Her clawed fingers reached out to snag the shield, and with a surprising chomp, the woman took a chunk out of the god's shield. The god gave a sound of confusion. He wrenched his arm back, taking with it another one of Adam's lacrima.

Remembering how the girl had screamed at the pain from having one burst, Evangeline commanded, "Destroy all her lacrima, Ares!"

The god turned a sharp gaze towards the woman in the white dress. He snapped, "Do not order me, mortal. This is my battle, and your blood is mine as well. I own you more than you own yourself." Even though he gave her that snarl, the god crushed the lacrima in his ginormous paw.

Once more Adam convulsed against the ground. The tail and wings she bore flapped and twitched. Ares decided to take this time to thrust his blade towards Adamine.

Mere centimeters before Adamine had her spine severed, she used her new wing to flip her over to her front. Clawed hands gripped the tip of the sword, and Firmalione had Adamine take a bite out of that as well. She only had four lacrima left, the earrings and the ones on her silver bracelets. She couldn't afford for those to be destroyed.

After taking the sharp tip off his blade. Adamine forced herself to crawl back up onto her legs. "Now, I'm pissed," Firmalione made Adamine's voice growl out.

Ares only gave her a look of surprise, and when Adamine used her powerful tail to sweep his legs out from under him, he didn't have enough time to catch himself. Adam leaped atop the man's broad armored chest. Ares braced for the death blow, but it never came. Instead, Adamine dashed towards Evangeline.

The frightened girl was about to turn tail and run but a geyser shot up and swallowed her before she could get away. Adamine paused, chest heaving from exertion.

Acteon shook his head in disappointment. Over the screams of Evangeline's gargling voice, he spat out, "Not even a god could take down one measly dragon slayer. This is pathetic Evangeline, Dova, Black Pearl! I should kill you all for your insolence." His head snapped to the man beside him. Gripping his cloak to where the hood fell off the man's face, Acteon snapped, "She had better not get past you, Daemon. For if she does, I will make you suffer the same pain tenfold."

* * *

**_At long last my brain has decided to give me a chance to write. I was suffering from writer's block and to be honest still am on my story God Slayer of Lancet. *Check it out if you get a chance* Adam only has four lacrima left. What will happen to her when they all are destroyed? Honestly, I don't know myself, but I'm sure it will be epic with lots of actiony things to sate my love for things that go BOOM!_**


	17. Counterproductive

Counterproductive

Adamine sunk down to one knee. The bursting of her lacrima was taking its toll on her magic. She was like a fountain of energy that poured out but had nothing to flow into. Firmalione knew what would happen once the lacrima at her ears burst. She knew what would unleash when Adam's second to last lacrima was shattered. She just wasn't sure what would happen when the last seal broke, and Firmalione's soul was fully released.

Already the change from girl to dragon were harming Adamine's body. The wings on her back were heavy. The stone scales that she could turn off and on where permanent at the moment. The scaly tail layered in thick slabs of stone was hard to balance with. Right now, Firmalione knew that she could reverse these changes. She was uncertain if she could do it once the last lacrima was destroyed.

Guilt crossed over the dragon's heart. This was all her fault. If Igneel could see her now, he would mock her and repeat that dragons should stay out of the affairs of humans. She had been greedy, socially dependent upon the sweet girl she had raised. Firmalione hadn't wanted to rid herself of the human child that sat on her tail as Firmalione pretended to shake her off. Firmalione wanted to protect Adamine till the day she died. That was why she had put the seals in place to lock their souls together.

Adam put one clawed hand on the ground and tried to catch her breath. The dragon scaled armor she wore was heavy as well as the rest of the dragon attributes. Had Adamine not been as physically inclined as she was, she would have been crushed under the weight. That was the curse of the Adamantine Dragon Slayer, carrier of stone and diamond. It was unsurprising to Firmalione that the girl sported an extremely well defined build.

"Adamine," Freed called out, "you have to get up!"

Firmalione cast the green haired mage a scowl using Adamine's eyes. She knew that. She just couldn't do it right now. Her breaths were coming in labored spurts, and all the muscles Adamine's possessed were quivering with strain.

She could see the enemy, Daemon, coming closer. He was a massive wall of a man. He had broad shoulders and wildly spiked white hair. A threatening scar ran down his face, but then Adam noticed that his body was coated in scars.

The man tilted his head to make loud popping noises erupt from beneath his skin, and Firmalione forced Adamine's legs up.

The young soul the girl had was vivacious. It saw the blood on her trapped comrades, and it wanted revenge. Firmalione could feel the fury that seethed inside of Adamine's soul. She fed on that fury, letting it be the adrenaline that permitted her to stand on two legs.

Deciding to let those muscles relax, Firmalione leaped skywards. It had been years since she had flown, but as soon as she was in the sky, Firmalione mastered her new wings with ease.

"Don't think that just because you can fly that you can escape my reach," Daemon mentioned, arrogance dripping with every word. Adamine and Firmalione both vowed that he would be eating those words once this battle was over.

"Tower of Earth!" Daemon proclaimed, and Adamine swiftly dodged an attack similar to her Stone Pillar moves. "Tower Expansion!" A variety of spikes thrust out from the tower, and Adamine was slammed in the gut by dirt and stone.

Already, the man had snapped off the lacrima in her ears. Two earrings ripped through her ears then splattered against the rocks forty feet below. Howls shred through Adamine's lips at the sudden pain at the tops of her skull.

She gripped the sides of her head with both hands. Her claws dug into the skin before she realized what was happening. Two long horns protruded from her skin and grew out to form pearly white tips that were deadly sharp. The headache from their abrupt growth pulsated inside her mind, but Adamine fought through it to cast magic of her own. Using a spell Adamine had never heard of, Firmalione stated, "Tectonic plates of Earthland lend me your power! Dragon's Den!"

The tower Adamine was pinned to shuddered. The earth shuddered. With one simple statement and the soul of a dragon working inside of her body, tectonic plates retreated from each other. Acteon used a geyser to launch himself away from the shivering earth. Laxus used his Lightning Body to shoot himself up. Evergreen used her fairy wings. Freed used Dark Ecriture to give him wings. Bickslow aligned his totems under his feet.

"What the hell is going on?" Laxus snarled towards Adamine.

"Oh, shit! The whole forest is getting eaten!" Bickslow acknowledged and looked to the trees falling into a growing cavern.

"Adam, are you trying to take us out too!" Evergreen snapped although she knew it wasn't Adamine controlling her body.

"Adam! Are you sure this is a good idea?" Freed called, trying to get Adam's eyes to clear from their possessed state.

Firmalione just ignored them. This was her spell. This was her plan. They would not interfere. Adamine was too close to succumbing to the dragon soul. She needed to finish this quickly. Already, Firmalione's powers were able to be released from the girl's body. Any longer was just too dangerous.

Daemon's body tumbled downwards, and Firmalione dashed towards him. Her claws slashed at his large body. Streaks lined his face, sure to create more scars on him, but he met her hit for hit. As they plummeted to the bottom of the cavern, he got in as many hits on her as she did on him.

Adamine put her arm up to block, but that was her mistake. Daemon locked his hands around her lacrima. With a simple crunch it shattered away in his hand. Adam's wings expanded. Her talons lengthened. Her fangs shot sharper. The mighty tail she bore elongated further. Even her horns sharpened.

Just the sight of Adamine's new features caused Daemon to falter, and she snagged him by the shirt to cry, "Scalding Bite of the Blazing Adamantine Dragon!" Her fangs sunk into the man's neck, and fire lit up his entire body before she relinquished her fangs.

The possibly powerful mage dived limply to the bottom of the cavern with his body still blazing. Adamine flew down. Using her two mighty wings, she blew out the flames before launching herself back up but not before freezing the man's body to solid stone.

There was only one lacrima left on Adamine's body. The girl's soul was completely enveloped by the dragon. She needed to take out Acteon before… before…

Adamine's vision wavered. Her wings faltered, and once she was out of the cavern, she toppled gracelessly to the ground like a ragdoll. Moving the tectonic plates must have taken more out of her than she had guessed. Adamine's magical energy was flowing like crazy. She hadn't thought it would do that much damage to the girl.

Adam's face hit the dirt, and Firmalione could barely move her head to look at the approaching enemy. She was out of breath. Her heart pulsated wildly. Sweat streamed down her dirty body. This couldn't be the time that she passed out. She needed to stay awake for one more battle.

* * *

Freed watched silently as Adamine tumbled to the dirt. She was worn out. There was no way she would be able to survive another battle. For one girl to take on four opponents of potential S-class ranking, she had to be weak, but she was also astounding. If it hadn't been for her lacrima breaking, Freed doubted the woman would have made it this far.

He had never seen Adamine in such a state. Bickslow had always mentioned that Adamine was different. When the Raijinshuu and Laxus had first met her, Bickslow had said she was more powerful than Laxus gave her credit for. Today, that was made apparent.

Laxus had been quiet ever since Adam had pushed the tectonic plates away to create a rocky cavern. The spell had been massive, as big a movement as what Hades had done on Tenrou. If Laxus had never said she had potential before, he knew she did now.

He glanced over to Bickslow. Out of the entire group Bickslow was closest to Adam. Freed could only wonder what was going on behind his stoic expression. When Laxus used to call Adamine weak, Bickslow would always make comments that Freed had taken notice of. If anyone believed that Adamine could stand up and finish what she had started it was Bickslow.

"Get up," Evergreen whispered. She was on her knees and staring at Adamine. The dragon slayer was limp on the ground. Acteon still approached. "Get up," Evergreen repeated. Her hands were clenched on her legs.

Freed looked back to Adamine. It didn't look like she was able to get up. She was wore out. Freed could only wonder how heavy her armor, wings, tail, and horns must weigh. Those dragon attributes must be taking a toll on her magical power and her strength. He cast his eyes down. He wasn't sure that he wanted to see what would happened when Acteon finally stood in front of Adamine.

* * *

A shadow crossed over Adamine's body, but she couldn't lift her head to look at it. Instead, she curled her claws into the dirt and rock. Lancet Dragon Priests were a creepy group. Firmalione was their goddess, but their goddess had abandoned them. She was glad for that.

Pressing his booted foot down on Adamine's skull, Acteon rolled her limp body around for a bit. He was toying with her, playing with her like he would do prey. "Tch. You're more trouble than you're worth, slayer. Can't believe just one girl took out my best fighters. Guess they weren't that good after all."

Acteon looked to Evangeline. She spat water out and had gashes in her body from the geyser attack. Dova wasn't faring much better. She and Black Pearl were stone cold, frozen down to their atoms to stone. At the bottom of the cavern, Daemon was in the same state, but he bore crisped hair and flesh. His militia had been useless against one girl.

Swinging his leg, Acteon's foot connected with Adamine's stomach, and she was sent flying into the waterfall Acteon had sealed the cave off with. It shred through the back of her vest and left her black shirt in tattered shreds.

She couldn't get up. Adamine's arm draped over her side, and she kept her glare in place at the cat toying with a dragon. The only thing that Adam could make move was her tail. It flicked around angrily.

Acteon picked her up off the ground by one of her horns. He recognized, "You must be all out of power from having to fight all of my colleagues. I suppose they were good for something."

Adam forced her lolling head to roll upwards. She spat, "Yeah, I'm perfect for fighting you now. All weak and broken. Just how a douche like you needed me to be." At least, she still had her cocky attitude.

The enemy didn't look too impressed. He pushed Adamine up against the roaring falls. She could feel steam and liquid trickling against her mostly bare back. With the way her clothes were shredded, she was certain she was giving her comrades a show. Oh, well, it couldn't be helped. She was fighting to save their asses. They had better appreciate it.

"Your attitude is still in place I see," Acteon mentioned and pressed Adamine closer to the falls until steaming droplets singed her shoulders and back.

"Well, when all you've got is a hammer, all your problems start to look like nails," Firmalione had Adamine's voice groggily explain. Her words were counterproductive because the only thing it got her was Acteon shoving her back against the water.

She wanted to scream. It was right behind her lips, but she didn't give him the satisfaction. Blood reddened the water around them. Adamine didn't look at that though.

She looked at Bickslow, Laxus, Freed, and Evergreen. She'd made it this far because they believed in her. She wasn't going to let 'em down just yet.

Summoning the last bit of strength she had, Adamine curled her clawed fingers around Acteon's wrist. "I'll be seeing you in hell," she explained and wrapped her tail around Acteon's leg. Giving a punishing yank, she sent them sailing inside of the wicked falls.

* * *

**So, I was listening to Black Sabbath's song ****_War Pigs_**** at the time I wrote this chapter. I was feeling quite badass to be frank. I wanted Adamine to go out with a cliffhanging bang.**


	18. Wake up, Mina

Wake Up, Mina

"She didn't!" Bickslow roared when the geysers collapsed around the Raijinshuu and Laxus. He charged to the front of the falls. They were the only thing still going, and the group could see blood pooling in the deeper portion of the river before it flowed into the cavern Adam had made.

"She did," Evergreen whispered. She stepped tentatively towards the falls. Standing on a rock, she looked down to where Adamine had shoved herself and Acteon into the water. If the flow and heat of that waterfall was anything like the geysers, Evergreen didn't know if Adamine's scales could even protect her.

Freed looked towards the ground. Adamine's lacrima dotted the entire area. He wondered if the final one she sported was still intact. The geysers had been unforgiving. He doubted the falls were any better.

It was Laxus who actually stepped into the waist high water. Steam and bloody water flowed all around him, and everyone leaped away from the liquid when his electricity fired off around him. "That stupid bitch!" he snarled. "She'd better hope that she's dead because I'll kill her myself for being such a dumbass!" He charged towards the water, but Freed and Evergreen flew forward to snag his intimidating biceps. "Let me go!"

"No! Laxus, you'll only wind up hurting yourself!" Evergreen explained, yanking on Laxus.

He was hell bent on getting to Adamine beyond the falls. When he shot electricity around his body, Freed narrowly missed a bolt. Freed snapped, "She's right, Laxus. We should try to find another way to get into the cave!"

Laxus gave one final yank before baring his teeth towards the accursed waterfall. If it was still going, that meant that Acteon was still around. Adamine's stupid move probably just jolted him so much that he released the spell he had on the Thunder God Tribe and Laxus.

"Fine," he spat. "Let me go. 'Cause I want to be in perfect condition when I beat that bastard to a pulp." He walked out of the scalding water then looked towards Bickslow. If Laxus was this pissed, he could only imagine how pissed Bickslow was. Laxus referred to Adam as Bickslow's woman. There was no telling what was going on behind his flattened lips.

Bickslow turned his back and began walking away. No one said a word as they started on their search for another entrance to the cave.

* * *

"Adamine… She's not… Is she?" Levy asked with her eyes still glued to the diamond between her fingers. After Adamine's fights had started, Levy hadn't put the small fragment down. In order to keep herself hopeful, she mentioned, "She can't be. Her lacrima still works."

Gajeel was sitting against the bars. He had his fangs bared like a cornered animal. For someone who had been skeptical of Adamine's intentions at first, he had grown to like her after seeing her fights. She was tough and could take more than just a punch. When Acteon had been kicking her around, Gajeel had been trying to chew through the chains on his wrists to get to her.

Moisture began to heat Levy's eyes, and she felt Gajeel wrap an arm around her. "She's fine, shorty. She's got dragon scales. More than any slayer I've known. That prick couldn't take her out if his life depended on it."

Normally, Levy would have flushed at Gajeel's hopeful words and his arm around her, but right now she wasn't worried about it. A comrade had disappeared. She couldn't see her. She didn't know what had happened to her. The only means of tracking her that they had was now gone.

Unconsciously, Gajeel laid his hand on Levy's blue head. They were gunna get out of this mess. It was just a matter of time now that Laxus and his fan club had joined in. With a lingering stroke against Levy's soft hair, Gajeel leaned his head on the bars. He muttered, "Just a matter of time."

* * *

Acteon looked down at the girl passed out underneath him. She was beautiful, strong. She had made a worthy opponent and had he fought her when she was at full strength, he knew he wouldn't have gotten out with so few bruises.

He leaned down and tossed her over his shoulder. Things hadn't worked out the way that he had wanted them to, but he got what his master wanted. Adamine Terra, Erianna Lancet the princess of Lancet and demigoddess of Firmalione.

With a cruel smirk, Acteon made his way through the cavern. Torches lit up as he passed, and he glared at the one lacrima that his waterfall hadn't broken.

It glowed vibrantly as if to mock him. That pulsating light would haunt his dreams if his master's sacrifice didn't work out as planned. For some accursed reason, he couldn't get rid of that lacrima.

Unlike all of the others, it was tougher but made out of the same material. Whenever Acteon tried to reach for it to break it, his hand was singed with some kind of magic. He cursed that magic. It kept him from what he desired. He hated anything that kept him from what he wanted whether it be alive or inanimate.

One of the alive things was Adamine Terra. She was still in her strange dragon form, and Acteon held her with one hand on the base of her tail and the other clenching her ankles. Her skin was still turned to stone. Her eyes were still white with not even the vivid green showing. When she gave a slight murmur in her sleep, Acteon wondered just what the little witch was dreaming.

* * *

_"__Firmalione," I called out as I wandered through the wilderness. Birds flew away at the sight of me. Foxes dashed into their dens. Rabbits hopped away when I playfully chased them. The animals were all so frightened of me and my dragon mother. We were predators, and they were prey. That was how it was supposed to be. "Lione!" I cried out louder, using the nickname she told me about._

_Suddenly, a massive blast of wind ripped stones up from the ground. They launched themselves at me, and I grinned as I leaped up to dodge the oncoming assault. There she was!_

_I continued to dash past rocks and flying sticks that had gotten caught up in Firmalione's roar before being trapped in a massive clawed paw. "Adamine," Firmalione purred to me in her kind, loving voice, and I peeked out from beneath one of her long talons._

_"__Yes?" I wondered. When she removed her large paw from my body, I folded my legs underneath me to sit in that princess style Firmalione always taught me to sit._

_"__Do you remember where you are?" she asked._

_"__Huh? I'm in the woods. With you. Where else would I be?"_

_"__No, my love. Where are you really?"_

_I tilted my five year old head, hair spilling into my face. After a moment of speculation, I began to feel memories flooding my mind. The Lancet Dragon Priests. Meeting Black Pearl. Getting rescued by the Thunder God Tribe and their scarred leader. Searching for Firmalione, for Zeref. The onslaught of memories surprised me, and I looked into Firmalione's large, slanted eyes._

_"__Bickslow, Laxus, Freed, and Evergreen! Gajeel and Levy!" I called out. I put myself on my hands and knees to stare up at my dragon mother. "They need my help!"_

_"__No, my love." Firmalione let a talon caress my face. "You need their help."_

_Now, I was really confused. Sitting on my haunches, I crossed my arms across my chest. "I don't need anyone's help. I can fend for myself. I'm a dragon slayer."_

_The ivory scaled dragon gave me a fanged smile. "Not this time, sweet Mina. You need their help. You have to stop running away from people. Stop running away from the Thunder God Tribe, from Fairy Tail, and from Lancet. Soon, you will have to join all of them in some way."_

_Firmalione was confusing me. I wasn't running away from anything. I ran headlong to find my dragon. I never ran away from the Raijinshuu. I left them because I was looking for Firmalione. I didn't run away from Fairy Tail. I was too busy to be a part of a guild. I would never run away from Lancet. Even though I fancied being a knight more than being a princess, I only left because I didn't know who I was. Dragons don't run away._

_"__If you want to get stronger, if you want to save your kingdom, you need their help, Adamine. Stop looking for me because I'll always be right here." She gently touched my chest with her talon, and I looked down to see what she meant. My heart. Firmalione would always be in my heart._

_I smiled at her. "I know that. You'd never leave me, Lione. You're my momma. I just want to see you sometimes." She poked my head, pushing me back a little. "Yeah, I can remember you when I want to see you, but that's not always good enough."_

_"__I needs to be because I need you to wake up."_

_"__Wake up? I am awake. I'm with you."_

_"__No, Mina. You have to wake up."_

_Suddenly, the forest around me got dark. Lightning began to crash overhead, and I heard thunder in the distance. Leaves fell off the trees like they did in autumn. When a strike of lightning hit right beside me, I looked back to the cave were Firmalione and I slept. She was gone. My heart rampaged within my chest as more lightning flashed all around me._

_Then, I remembered something. The lightning wasn't my enemy here. The lightning was Laxus and the Raijinshuu. If Firmalione wanted me to wake up, then that was what I'd do. Another flash stabbed into the ground, and before it could get away, I ran headlong._

_My hands reached out towards the lightning, and instead of finding pain, I felt the curling of fingers against my own. When I looked up, I saw Laxus. He pulled me into the lightning then threw me against a broad chest. This time when I looked up, I saw Bickslow. He had his tongue hanging out and his babies floating around him._

_Yes, this was my present, and it was time to get back to it._

* * *

**Just so you know, I won't be posting this upcoming weekend. Since it's the last weekend before I go back to uni, I'll be camping. Unfortunately, there is no internet connection in the woods. Maybe, I should invent Wi-Fi that goes through tress... hmm... Oh! Before I go, I have to say thank you to my readers. I can't believe that I've almost hit a thousand views. I'm ecstatic that people are enjoying reading through my chapters. I hope the story is all that you wanted it to be. Drop a review for me to read when I get back. I love to hear from you all, and my readers are my inspiration to write. Now, it's time for me to pack my furry child into the truck and go to the lake. Ta. Ta.**


	19. Cabin Fever

**Hello, everyone! I'm back from the lake and am somehow, miraculously, still intact from the weekend's shenanigans. Today, I have wrote up some comic relief to keep the Fairy Tail vibe of suspense and humor flowing throughout my story. Thank you for continuing to read in my absence. Please, enjoy Cabin Fever, title inspired by my weekend.**

* * *

Cabin Fever

Adamine's eyes flashed open, and she looked around her. She knew this place. She knew this room. It was the sacrificial chamber. There were seven altars. The rising moon was reaching up towards the center of the dragon's maw, in other words a massive oculus atop the stone dome.

She had never thought that she would be here again. After a grimace, Adamine looked around her. Gajeel was strapped down on the altar of the Hanged Man, the tarot card of rebirth. Levy was tied onto the Star, card of faith. Adamine wondered what card she laid upon. The last time it had been Death.

Levy seemed to realize what she was doing. She explained, "The Empress. If Cana was here, she could tell you what it meant. Sorry."

Adamine cracked a grin despite their unfortunate situation. She explained, "The positive side is development and action. The negative is anxiety and inaction. I should be the one who is sorry. It's my fault we're in this mess."

Gajeel snorted, "You're absolutely right about that, stoner." Before Levy could scold him, he added, "But, I shouldn't have doubted you or gotten kidnapped in the first place. It ruins my reputation. Ya know."

Adamine gave a snicker of her own. She was no longer doubted by him, but it took getting kidnapped to make him change his mind. Funny guy. With her hands chained over her head, she let it rest against the stone.

She knew the handcuffs she was in. She wasn't able to use her slayer magic, but what was so strange was that she didn't know how she'd gotten here. She had blacked out after Pearl had busted her lacrima. She didn't know where the Raijinshuu and Laxus were either. Another surprise? The fact that her skin was stone and she had dragon attributes, horns included!

Adamine stared at the rising moon. She must have been out for a long time if it was nearing eight now. They had left camp around six. Then again, she had no clue how she'd gotten here. Adamine turned to the two she was trapped with. "How did I get here?"

Levy's and Gajeel's mouths parted at that statement. Adamine just asked, "What?"

* * *

Bickslow walked further into the endless labyrinth that made up this stupid fucking cave system. Laxus was unintentionally lighting up the cave with his angry lightning. He and Bickslow were two seconds from just blowing the place up in search of finding Adamine, Gajeel, and Levy. Had Evergreen and Freed not been there, they probably already would have.

Evergreen was walking in front of them. She and Freed had captured and threatened one of the dragon freaks into showing them where to go. Freed had drawn an explosion rune on the guy, and Evergreen threatened to turn him to stone if he dared to try anything funny. The guy was dropping cold sweat as he made his way through the complicated system.

Bickslow couldn't say as he blamed him. Laxus had single handedly taken out a small army that had come at them. Bickslow had made part of the cave explode. The rage split between the two men was even enough to keep Freed and Ever quiet as they treaded their way to where Adamine and the others were.

"J-just t-turn here, and the cells a-are d-d-d-down there," the slender male explained with a shivering hand that pointed towards a large iron door. Humph. Gajeel would have a heyday with that door.

When no one moved to open the door, Evergreen gave the man a shove. If there was a trap behind that door, and the Thunder God Tribe knew traps, it would go off on this punk not them. The male timidly approached the door, and once he opened it up, nothing happened.

Still, Evergreen and Freed led the male in front of them. Bickslow's eyes scanned the cells. There was nothing there. They weren't too late. The moon had yet to rise, and without the rest of the group, Bickslow doubted they would begin the summoning. "No one's here," he mentioned. "You'd better not be trying to screw with us, punk. I swear, if you are-"

"He isn't trying to fool anyone," an annoyingly familiar voice mentioned. "We just moved our guests to a new room to prepare for the ceremony." It was Acteon. The man stood in front of a door. This one had the tarot card for the Wheel of Fortune. "You all shall join them soon of course." He spread his arms wide, and Freed and Evergreen looked down at their feet. They were standing on tarot cards.

Beams of light shot up from them, and the two disappeared. Bickslow didn't have time to be surprised because he was leaping away from a light of his own. Laxus did the same.

"Tch. Figures that trick wouldn't work on everyone. Master Kalin, would you like to join me in this battle? It shouldn't last long."

A man stepped from the shadows, so this was the Long Distance Teleporter. He had purple hair and tan skin. In his hands he shuffled a stack of cards. Ah. Cards Magic. Bickslow knew all about that from the S-class trails seven years ago. Losing to Lucy and Cana had sucked, but now it gave Bickslow an edge. He knew how this magic worked.

"Sure, Acteon. I need the lightning dragon slayer if I want this summoning to perform accordingly." He drew cards up between his fingers then threw them on the floor. Laxus and Bickslow were prepared for an attack, but the cards only fizzled out into pixelated bits. More traps.

* * *

Adamine nearly jumped when heavy, iron doors squealed out the arrival of more partygoers to the Sacrifices Are Us Club. Her lips parted at the sight of an unconscious Freed and Evergreen. What? There was no way! Acteon couldn't have taken them out unless he'd used some lame trick. She shifted her emerald gaze from them to the iron dragon slayer and the script mage.

They looked astounded as well. Levy's lips were parted in the same fashion as Adam's. Gajeel just looked pissed. _I swear his scowl has been forged onto his face, _Adam thought without meaning to. _My name is Gajeel Redfox, and I'm pissed off._ Well, at least Adam's sense of humor was still intact. She snickered, getting a few looks from Levy, Gajeel, and the dragon freaks carrying her comrades in.

For some reason, Adamine wasn't scared like she had been last time. Something felt different inside of her, like something had shifted into place. Even though she was tied down and wore the angelic dress that was pretty much sheer, she couldn't care less.

It had to have been that dream. Firmalione hadn't spoken to her in years. Just knowing that her dragon knew what was going on in her life made Adamine optimistic about this crazy situation. Firmalione was watching over her. They were going to be fine.

The dragon priest laid an unconscious Evergreen down onto the stone slab. Evergreen was going to be so pissed when she realized someone had changed her clothing to the same attire she and Levy were donning.

Freed's and Gajeel's clothing had been swapped out as well, and Adam had to admit that seeing the pierced man in a white toga was something she needed a picture of. She could hang it over his head forever. Leverage.

Freed's green hair spilled out along the sides. While seeing Gajeel in a toga was hilarious, Freed could work the toga. She had always thought he looked better unraveled. Hell, Laxus, Freed, and Bickslow were all exquisitely handsome men. Now that she thought about it, it would be a beautiful sight to see those two matching Freed and Gajeel. More Leverage! They could be her slaves forever.

Once more, she gave out a mischievous snicker. Levy finally asked, "What are you snickering about, Adam?"

"Seeing Bickslow, Laxus, Gajeel, and Freed in sheer white togas. Maybe, I'm getting a slight case of Cabin Fever, but that-" She nodded to Gajeel. "-is freaking hilarious."

Gajeel snarled, "No wonder she gets along with the Raijinshuu. She's just as batty as the rest of 'em." A blush was suffusing his face when he remembered his attire. Ooh. What Adamine wouldn't give for a lacrima powered Image Captor.

Levy on the other hand seemed to be grinning at Adamine's comment. She looked to be attempting to hold it in though. It wasn't working well for her. Occasionally, her angelic laugh would echo amongst the air. "You're awful, Adam. I like it," she giggled.

Adamine tossed her fanged half smile. It was a mix between cruel smirk and actual laughter. Just when Adam was about to toss more dark humor out to lighten this situation, Evergreen snarled, "Who the hell changed my clothes? I swear if some sweaty handed pervert touched me while I was unconscious, I'm going to turn him to stone then beat him into little pieces!"

"Evergreen, could you, please, stop yelling. I have a… head… ache… Where are my clothes?" Freed exclaimed, trying to get up from the stone altar but being held fast by the arms chained over his head. "What kind of sick posture is this?"

Adamine let out an almost manic laugh. "Finally! Freed thinks dirty thoughts!"

Evergreen cast her a scowl, and Adam was glad the dragon dudes had decided to keep her glasses on. "You're acting like Bickslow, Adamine. Stop it!"

"Well, ya spend enough time with the guy, and it kind of rubs off," Adamine responded and looked out the oculus. In times of stress, Adamine was always the weird one that laughed. Bickslow did have that certain trait as well.

A certain sadness swept over her, and she felt her tail twitch irritably. Bickslow and Laxus were still out there. Even though, Ever and Freed had gotten captured, those two were out there fighting to get them back.

Her manic humor couldn't stay in place when she thought of that. She pressed her lips down hard, feeling the strange fangs in her teeth cut the flesh of her gums. She was stuck in this state. She'd gotten kidnapped. It was all her fault. She needed to make it up to them all somehow after all this was over because it would be over. Adamine would somehow make sure of it even if Laxus and Bickslow couldn't.

"Mina?" Evergreen wondered. Concern was in her beautiful eyes.

Only the Raijinshuu and Laxus were allowed to call her Mina, and Adamine knew just how worried Evergreen was when she heard the secret nickname slip from Ever's lips.

"I'm fine. We're going to get out of this before the crescent moon rises." Her face shifted to lock gazes with the woman on the altar titled the High Priestess. "I swear it."

"Humph. I wasn't asking about that, but I know we will. Laxus and Bickslow could never be taken out by those two fools."

"Two?"

"Yeah, some dick named Kalin showed up. He used card magic to knock me and Freed unconscious. It apparently teleported us to someone's poorly picked out closet. Really! Who has fifty white togas in men and women styles?"

Adamine snorted. Oh, yeah. Evergreen was not concerned about their situation at all.


	20. Seven Sacrifices

**Hey, everyone, I updated this chapter to include Laxus's battle between Acteon and Kalin. Some more creepiness comes out in the card wielding mage, and it seems that there is more to the man than just running away and cards. Is this group more than just wacky occultists? Is this whole battle something on a much larger scale? I hope I keep you on the edge of your seats as you read through. Thank you for reviewing and following. :) It is appreciated more than y'all know.**

* * *

Seven Sacrifices

Laxus was shoved to the back wall of the cage. His blonde head knocked against a sharp spike, and he slouched down before lunging out of the reach of summoned fire. How the hell were these two punks beating them? It was impossible. They couldn't be getting owned by a water mage and his card wielding boyfriend, but when Bickslow was blown across the room so far his body knocked down an iron cell wall, Laxus had to notice that they were.

"Oi, this ain't right, Laxus," Bickslow grunted when he wiped blood off his face. "How the hell are we getting our shit rocked? It's a water goblin and Psychic Lin. Something's not right here." A shot of lightning that should have been aimed at Acteon redirected itself towards Bickslow, and he called, "Babies! Defensive Formation." The dolls made a circle with a large, green magic circle forming in the middle.

Laxus didn't even flinch at the strange deflection maneuver that had them fighting each other while Kalin and Acteon metaphorically sipped tea in the corner of the underground cell. This parlor trick was getting old, and the two of them had yet to find a way to get past it.

Bickslow tried to use Baryon Formation, but once more it was shot at Laxus after hitting some invisible barrier. Laxus used his Lightning Body to dodge it.

"This is kind of humorous, Acteon. Don't you think?" Kalin questioned of the geyser mage who wasn't doing anything.

Laxus charged towards their opponents but was blasted back by Acteon's geysers. The stupid magic erupted clean out of nothing. Acteon didn't even lift a finger. Curse these traps.

Acteon leaned back on the cave wall and propped a booted foot up. "It really is, but you would think that they would have given up by this point. There's no getting past our Geyser Dome."

Laxus was thrown against Bickslow after a failed attempt at rushing the invisible barrier once more. The Seith Mage used his babies to create a shield for Laxus to land on instead of Bickslow. The lightning mage growled, "Feels like the Battle of Fairy Tail all over again."

"Wonder if we've gotta beat each other to break it down?" Bickslow didn't want to have to fight against Laxus but if push comes to shove…

"Ah! They do have brains inside those thick skulls," Kalin exclaimed.

"Hmm. Took them long enough."

"You create these traps for people, yet you complain about them. Are you bored with them, or do you just enjoy irony?"

"Irony. I always go for irony, master."

"I see." Kalin finally directed his attention to the two men Acteon was studying. They held much interest for the geyser mage. He seemed to have fixated on the two after seeing their abilities when Adamine fought Daemon.

"Don't these two ever get tired of using the same shit over and over again?" Laxus harped. When Adamine had fought against the Lancet Quintet, Acteon had set up a similar situation. Now, the man had them trapped once more. He used tactics like Freed's runes. Laxus had never imagined how irritating it was to fight someone like Freed until now. No wonder, Acteon had taken Freed out already. They would have never gotten any fighting done.

"Battle of Fairy Tail Part Two," Bickslow muttered and faced the man who had gotten the Raijinshuu. He had never expected that someday he would have to fight Laxus. As a matter of fact, he didn't even feel like doing it. There was a reason he followed Laxus. The man was strong. He wouldn't follow a weakling. Instead of launching himself at the Lightning Dragon Slayer, Bickslow just said, "Hey, babies. Aim a Baryon Formation at me." That would make him pass out for certain.

"What the hell are you doing, idiot?"

Bickslow hung his tongue out and grinned like a mad man. "They said they couldn't do the summoning without you. How about I sit this one out, and you show these guys why they don't screw with allies of Fairy Tail."

Laxus shook his head. He didn't want this, but he understood what Bickslow was getting at. Besides, Laxus could wipe these two guys out faster if he was at full power. With a nod, Laxus turned his eyes to the stunned mages.

"Go, babies!" Bickslow announced, and with five reluctant dolls hovering in front of him, he blasted himself with his own magic. Bickslow had a thumbs up as he fell slowly to the ground.

* * *

"No way," Gajeel stated when he heard the doors open again. Two men were carrying a waking Bickslow towards the altar marked the Fool. It seemed that everyone was placed on altars that represented themselves. Even though Gajeel noticed this, he also noticed something else. Adamine was gawking in sheer surprise.

"Hey, how's everyone doing in here?" Bickslow wondered with a scratchy voice. His body was covered in battle wounds, and Adamine knew that if they didn't get those treated they would scar his tanned skin.

Freed shook his head. Evergreen scowled at Bickslow's stupid question. Levy wasn't paying any attention. Gajeel's face was stuck in its pissed off state.

Adamine watched him hop up onto the altar and toss his arms over his head for two shocked men to lock him into place. Once the ankle and wrist locks were down, they walked off sharing a bewildered look.

"Nice underwear, Adamine. You look good in green pinstripes," Bickslow boldly stated. He was tied down beside Freed, giving him an easy view of her and Levy's underclothing. _Oh. How lovely._

Instead of getting mad, Adamine retorted, "Commando. Should have figure you were a free baller."

He shrugged his shoulders as much as he could. "Hey, a little draft never hurt. Besides, I think I like the toga. Doesn't restrict the boys."

"God, will you two stop. Just stop before I throw up," Evergreen whined.

"She's not the only one. Bickslow, Adamine, must you? We're in a bit of a situation," Freed groaned.

Gajeel had his lip curled in a disgusted fashion. He wondered, "Are they always like this?"

Freed explained, "It gets worse when they're drunk."

Ever growled, "Their children will be awful."

Now, Levy piped up. "You two are together?"

Ah. At long last a normal response. While Adamine flushed from breast to forehead, Bickslow just glanced away. He looked faintly flushed. Levy just looked surprised. She hadn't seen that one coming.

Evergreen spoke up, "They should be. They act too much alike. It's awful when she tags along for missions. Bickslow can't keep his hands off her."

Freed laughed, "Their kids will be born with facial tattoos. Oh, god. An Adamantine Seith Dragon Slayer. The world will be forever doomed."

"What if it was twins?"

The entire group, minus one steadily growing pissed off Seith Mage and an already embarrassed Dragon Slayer, gave a groan of despair.

Freed mentioned, "Her fiancé will be doomed in he tries to kidnap Adamine at that point. That is, if he isn't already doomed now."

They were going to keep going when a robed man walked through the doors. He looked the group over with veiled eyes that studied each and every human body. Adamine's entire body gave a shudder when a hauntingly familiar voice explained, "Just one more."

* * *

Laxus snarled in the face of his enemies. They were two on one, odds he didn't really give a damn about. It could have been one on one hundred at this point, and he would still keep going.

That idiotic woman was in here somewhere. Her body was bruised, battered, and weakened. These guys had taken out the Raijinshuu, and they had captured members of Fairy Tail. He would make them pay.

Without a word passed between them, Acteon shot a geyser up directly from underneath Laxus's feet. Humph. Water versus lightning. This was going to be a trip.

He leaped back and shot a wave of lightning at him. The mage didn't look impressed. He used a geyser to jet up like a shield. It made a conduit which flowed from Acteon's geyser straight into two of Kalin's cards.

One card sucked up the lightning. The other card absorbed the water. Once Acteon and Laxus had stocked them full of power, Kalin tossed the cards to the ground. "Release the Oncoming Storm!" he casually commanded.

Dark clouds began to form overhead in the tall underground cell. Rain and hail began to pelt down against Laxus's skin. He didn't let it distract him. "Lightning Dragon's Roar!" he shouted and exhaled more of his lightning. It fired out at Acteon, but like a magnet was sucked into that damned card again. If he couldn't use his magic, he was going to have to use brute force.

Kalin and Acteon were still standing nonchalantly beside the wall. The door that Laxus needed to pass through was right behind them. Cards surrounded it, likely more traps to knock him out and send him to where the Raijinshuu had been taken.

Laxus felt precipitation gather around his feet again, and he lunged back from the geyser before it could swallow him like it had done before. "Not gunna fall for the same thing twice," Laxus grumbled. He was about to use another lightning attack, but the sight of Kalin's card still on the ground halted him.

He couldn't use lightning. Acteon was keeping him at a distance with his geysers. Laxus had one more trick up his sleeve, and it was one that he rarely ever used, a gift from a beautiful but damaged girl.

_"Laxus," she had coughed. Her arms were weakly holding her up from the dirt. "Eat this." She handed him a glistening diamond created from her adamantine scales. "It'll make you strong enough to defeat them."_

Although Laxus hadn't ate the diamond that day, instead choosing to hold true to his own abilities, he had kept it with him ever since. It was that one sentimental thing that he kept hidden from everyone, especially Bickslow. Looked like he was going to have to use it.

Flicking his hand against a secret compartment on the Sound Pod he kept, Laxus retrieved the diamond scale. It was small, sturdy, and beautiful, heh, kinda like the girl it had come from. With an inward grimace about how he was sure it would taste, he quickly popped it into his mouth.

His fangs smashed up the little gem, and oh yeah, it tasted awful. But, Mina, had been positive that it would make him stronger, so he somehow swallowed the foreign substance. His brows went up at the feeling that surged through his body. With a humorous expression hidden by the geyser wall, Laxus gawked at the glistening stone that coated his fist.

He would have to experiment with the strange feeling later because right now he was plunging his body through the skin shredding geyser to slam a shocked Acteon in the face.

* * *

Adamine felt something strange flash through her body, and her eyes flew open wide. Laxus, her mind whispered. Something was up with Laxus. She glanced around the sacrificial chamber. There was one altar untouched by a body, Laxus's altar. It awaited him like a death sentence, but Adamine had faith that he could get them out of here.

She had kept her eyes shut to think of a way to get the six of them out of here right now, but a sudden strange feeling had forced her to look for the blonde dragon slayer. He had to be fine. Laxus was more powerful than she was. If he couldn't get them out, no one could, but it was more than just that thought that made her open her eyes. She felt… suddenly connected to Laxus.

"This was unexpected," Kalin stated when Acteon was thrown through the cell walls and into the preparation room for the sacrifices. White cloth flew all over the place, and Acteon's head stopped flying when it slammed into a wall.

Laxus now turned his steely gaze towards the mage specializing in running like a bitch and reading people's fortunes. Since it looked like pretty boy was down for the count, Laxus could turn all his new strength onto the card mage.

Kalin gave Laxus a look of appreciation. "I didn't know you had adamantine abilities. Had I known that, I would have prepared an attack for you," Kalin explained. Laxus wasn't in the mood for small talk.

Using a move Laxus had seen Adamine do before, he shoved his adamantine arm down so hard it burst through the floor. There was metal all in this room, so his plan should work. "Adamantine Den of the Lightning Dragon!" he summoned and focused his new strength into the cells.

Electricity fired through the metals in the cell floor. They electrified the cell walls, and the floor underneath the two mages began to shift. He stretched his adamantine arm out, feeling spikes erupt from his body. Using them, he pulled stone up from the floor.

The entire room became and electrified death trap as Kalin leaped from falling stone to falling stone to escape the crumbling floor. Once there was no place left for him to stand, Laxus released his dragon roar.

Kalin howled in pain, but then the strangest thing happened. He began laughing. Maniacal laughter erupt from the electrified man's lips. Laxus just poured more lightning inside the man. His magic should have made the man a burnt crisp, but Kalin just opened his eyes and pointed a finger to something behind Laxus.

Angry eyes whipped backwards, and he was ready to attack. It was too late. A robed man with a shadow over his face stood behind him. A hand as cold as death itself touched the top of Laxus's skull. He could feel icy fingers gripping down on his scalp.

Darkness enveloped Laxus's body. He felt like he was being assaulted by the Grim Reaper himself when the darkness leaped inside of him. Dark runes appeared along his skin, but Laxus had no escape. His hand had suddenly gotten stuck in the stone, the stone that had turned to nothing but black.

* * *

A cold sweat beaded across Adamine's forehead, and Levy asked, "What's wrong, Adam? Well, aside from the obvious." She and Bickslow had somehow gotten everyone to chill out about the situation, but now the woman who had gotten everyone calm was freaking out.

"Laxus. Something's happened to Laxus. I can feel it," Adamine said in a rushed manner. She had been feeling a strong connection to the man then all of a sudden it had cut off. It was like she was on life support then someone just flipped the switch. Gone. Nothing.

"I'm sure he's fine. Those two couldn't take him out. No way in hell," Gajeel urged. He was looking at Adamine with concern faintly glinting in his eyes.

"No. No. Something is definitely wrong with him. I swear it. He's… He's…" Adamine was stopped when the sound of screeching doors caught her attention. A burly blonde man was being drug towards the last altar. His head hung down from unconsciousness.

His entire body was coated in burns, bruises, scratches, and other miscellaneous wounds. How had two measly Lancet Dragon Priests taken out Laxus? It had have been a trick. There was no way he could fall to them otherwise.

A fire began to burn deep within Adamine's belly at what those men had done. The fools knew they couldn't defeat the group one on one, so they had used tricks to capture everyone. The Raijinshuu had been captured by a trap, and now the man they guarded had been as well. This was too much. Even though she was scared, she was angry.

Something seemed to be clawing at Adamine from the inside. The single lacrima that she still wore glowed with a vengeance. When a man withdrew the Earth Tablet from Adamine's backpack, she could have screamed in rage.

It was only when the man who had named himself Zeref came into the room did Adamine's heart shiver. There were few things that she was scared of in this world. She had fought Laxus when they were younger. It had ended surprisingly in a bruised and breathless tie. She had been chased by wolves. She had chased them back. A demon had tried to possess her. She had wound up devouring it instead. But, if there was something that scared her, it was the dark haired man stepping through the doors.

The man Adamine assumed was master of the guild handed Zeref the tablet, and he stood in the moonlight given to him by the oculus. Her nightmares were coming true, but this time it involved people she knew and loved.

The clawing inside of her body still continued, but it was dulled by the pounding of Adamine's frantic heart. Adamine's lacrima was a beacon that outshined the moon when men took their places behind the heads of each of the sacrifices.

Two hands grabbed either side of everyone's skulls, forcing them to stare upwards into the oculus. The hands were cold, strong. Even though everyone squirmed and cursed to be let free, their heads didn't move an inch. Last time, this was where everyone had gotten tattooed with the Mark of Lione. This time, Zeref began to read the tablet in his hands.

Power like none she had felt before filled the room. It made the darkness on the walls dance. The shadows spun wildly. Air became hard to breathe. Thoughts grew distant. Heartbeats drummed in ears.

As Zeref's voice continued in a melodious tune, Adamine whispered, "Have… to… away…"

Darkness.

* * *

**Well, that is the last bit of comic relief before I get back into battle mode.**

***Note* The Magic Card, _The Oncoming Storm_ was what was used to summon the man that took out our beloved Laxus. I don't think that I cleared that up enough since I lacked detail in that section. It was supposed to be unexpected.**

**I'm also having some difficulty writing the next few chapters of Tablet and a Tome. We're close to the ending now, and I don't want it to be a disappointment.**

**Leave me a review stating your opinion. A little encouragement goes a long way with writer's block. Ergh. Hopefully, I can come up with something. Thank you for reading!**


	21. Collapse and Resuscitate

Collapse and Resuscitate

Zeref continued his chanting, and the Lancet Dragon Priests awed at the sight around them. Wind entered through the oculus. The very clouds in the sky were gathering, swirling like a demonic whirlpool.

Adamine's sole lacrima pulsated. Out of all seven of the gathered sacrifices, she reacted the most to Zeref's words. It was exactly as it had been when she was five years old.

Her back arched to a painful, semi-circular degree. Against the iron grip of Acteon holding her skull, she thrashed madly. The sounds of her chains echoed through the room. It looked like an exorcism was underway when she bent her body until only her skull and heels dug into the stone.

The wings she bore tossed around, trying to take her body away from here. The tail she had threw itself. Her usually beautiful eyes had rolled back in her head. She tried to ram her horns into Acteon's hands multiple times, and more men had to come to hold her down. She had one on each limb.

"Mina!" the Raijinshuu all called out in unison. They couldn't see what was going on because they were forced to stare forward, but they could hear it. Even Gajeel and Levy cried, "Adamine!"

It did little. Her hearing was centered on Zeref's words. That was all that she could hear.

The chains rattled harder when Zeref increased his speech speed. The faster that he spoke, the faster the shadows danced and the louder the winds howled.

He looked to be enjoying Adamine's reaction especially when a crack revealed itself in her lacrima. His words seemed to have an effect on it. When he switched tongues to medieval Lance, it began to split from the original crack.

_"__Three dragons! One of Iron! One of Lightning! One of Adamant! With the sacrifice of elements, I command thee to rise, Firmalione!"_

Just as the daggers were raised, Adamine's lacrima burst, and her body was flung as if someone had shoved her. The chains broke from her body, and that glaze began to cover Adamine's gaze once again.

Her body landed in the center of the oculus, and one all fours she whipped her head around to the shocked priests. Glinting weapons flashed in her eyes. Memories of attacks. Memories of a kidnapping. Memories of everything flooded her mind.

* * *

_"__Mommy! Da! I want to go home! I want to see my mommy!" a child screamed. She was five years old, so young. They were all so young._

_Soldiers gathered around a castle. They had their weapons raised. Their swords were brandished at the steel coated hips. Blood filled the moat._

_"__Who are you? Why are you here? No! No! Give me back my baby!" A gurgling sound stopped a mother's words short. When she looked down, a blade jutted from her gut._

_Howling winds. Trembling earth. A young girl sat alone and dressed in all white. She had fallen down and couldn't get up for the earthquake beneath her body. The earth was angry, and when it split, she knew it wanted to devour her._

_Giant wings flapped in the distance, and she hid behind stones that had fallen. When the beast rose its scaly head, she bit down on a scream. When it turned its silver gaze on her, she felt like her soul had left her body. Massive fangs approached. A talon filled paw approached with it. She was going to die. Oh, no. No. No. She wanted her mommy. She wanted to go home. She didn't want to die._

* * *

Adamine gripped the sides of her skull with two hands. Chains rattled, still on her wrists and ankles. A massive scream filled the air. It made the entire cave shift. The ground fell out from underneath everyone. The dragon slayer didn't see it. She wasn't falling. Everyone else was. Vaguely, she heard screaming. Hers or theirs?

* * *

Bickslow couldn't see what was going on. He was tied down, and Adamine was screaming. He needed to see what was happening, but once that wish was granted, he immediately regretted it.

Underneath everything but Adamine, the stone floor began to crumble. The ear piercing scream that was erupting from Adamine's lips was doing nothing to help the situation either. As a matter of fact, it seemed to be the reason the cave was falling in on itself.

They had no means of escaping the imminent fall, and Bickslow's babies were resting inside of his mind instead of in their totems. Those bastards had gotten rid of them along with his clothing. With these cuffs on no one could access their magical power anyway. It was a fuck all situation.

"Ah, shit!" Gajeel hollered when his altar flipped over. Apparently, he was getting a view of what was soon to come. "We've got stalagmite central down here, a bloody river, and six tickets to Splat Town!" Great. This sounded beautiful. Now, how the fuck were they going to get out of this?

"Gajeel, flip your altar back over with your weight!" Freed snapped. He was staying some amount of level headed during all of this. Well, that was great for him. Here! Have a medal!

Gajeel appeared to be doing so from what Bickslow could hear out of Evergreen and Levy's frantic screaming. Damn. Women and screaming in potentially deadly situations. It was going to give him a headache.

Bickslow used his own center of gravity to keep his altar underneath him. Freed had a plan, and Bickslow had plans of not dying today. They had to get Adamine out of here. He wasn't going to die before he got to rescue that irritating woman.

"The impact of our landing should break us off these stone slabs!" Freed yelled over all the screaming. Two parts were Levy and Evergreen. One part was Adamine's, now growing distant, howling. The rest of it was the Lancet Dragon Fuckers.

"If you can help it, land in the water. It will break the fall." Freed shifted his body towards the water they were quickly nearing. Not too long after that his stone slab crashed into it. Lancet Dragon Priests rained, and the guild members of Shadow Hunter, or where they priests as well, toppled in after them.

The other five fell in after them. Once Bickslow dove in, he was still strapped down to the altar. He gritted his teeth and tried to yank the hands that were chained above his head. Maybe, if the stone had gotten weakened there, he could break out of them. One pull. Twice. Four times. He gave a fifth yank, glad that his hands were now free.

Although they were still cuffed together, he could at least move his arms. Still holding his breath, Bickslow looked to his ankles. The stone hadn't even weakened there. He had to get free before he ran out of air.

Bickslow planted his feet down on the stone slab and reached with his chained arms towards his left foot. He snagged the chain and yanked. He tried and tried and tried to no avail. The oxygen he was supplied with was beginning to run out, and he could feel himself getting weaker.

He had been through a whole lot of shit in his life, but this was the first time he had ever thought he was going to die by drowning. He was a great swimmer, loved doing it. He gave another powerful tug on the chains. It got looser, but his vision was swimming in black dots. He had tracers in his vision. They were starting to eat away at it just when he had pulled on leg free. Just one more to go. Just one more…

* * *

Laxus looked at the group around him. Levy had luckily broken completely out of her chains. She only had one around her ankle. Evergreen had two on both feet, but her hands were free. Freed was still working on the ones around his wrists. Evergreen was helping with that. Levy was pulling Gajeel up from the side of the river that would have swallowed them up had they not been attached to heavy stones. Laxus's hands were still tied, but he would fix that later. Right now, he had to find Bickslow.

The group was scattered amongst unconscious and potentially dead Lancet Dragon Priests. He could have been anywhere, but they had fallen in a circle. Laxus had been three altars down from the man.

He got up on his feet. Chunks of stone still hung around his ankles, and he had one dangling from his wrists. Blood oozed from a nasty cut on his head where he'd knocked his skull on rock.

Laxus looked around the weak, the injured, and the drowning before he saw something shifting in the water. Without thought, he dove in after the shape.

Opening his steely eyes underwater, Laxus searched for his comrade. He was attached to stone. There was no way he got swept away by the currents. Laxus cursed the stones that weighed him down as he swam around to find the Seith Mage.

A flash of dark blue hair caught his eye, and Laxus gritted his teeth at the sight. How long had he been down here?

Bickslow's body was floating unconscious. It held fast against currents Laxus would have gotten swept away by had he not been trapped by stones on his body. The heavy things were making it hard to move, but they had their benefit.

Laxus snagged the chains by Bickslow's foot. His massive biceps pulled, and he put one chained foot on the altar to get some leverage. It wasn't budging. Laxus's own supply of oxygen was waning, and he forced his arms into his secret maneuver.

Adamantine scales appeared on his skin. He dug his clawed fingertips into the stone, amazed that the diamond fine points were shoveling away the stone. Once Bickslow was finally freed, Laxus snagged the man up by his chains then crawled up the side of the river. As soon as his body breached the surface, Laxus quickly changed his arms back to normal. No one was going to know he had Adamine's power.

He reached over to the unconscious mage and felt the side of his throat. The pulse was slow, groggy. Laxus glanced to the man's chest. It wasn't rising and falling. No breathing. He pumped the other mage's chest before tilting his head and began to put his breath inside of Bickslow's breathless body.


	22. Stripping and Strategy

Stripping and Strategy

Sharp coughing had Bickslow coming to, and when he saw Laxus's mouth coming towards his face, he put his hand on the dragon slayer's face. Water erupted from between Bickslow's lips, and in between coughing, he said, "I love you, Laxus, but you're not my type." He spat up more water.

The lightning dragon slayer sat on his haunches and watched the man shoot tiny waterfalls from his mouth. With how much water the mage was spouting out, Laxus was waiting for a fish to come flying out.

"You're not my type either, Bix. I won't tell anyone if you don't," Laxus suggested.

Once Bickslow was done being a water fountain, he sniggered, "I don't know, Laxus. This is probably one for the record books. Mira would be thrilled to have the guild's first homosexual relationship." He let out a rough cough then cleared his throat in a nasty _loogie_ making noise. After spitting something gross into the water, Bickslow shook his wet hair out.

His Mohawk was flattened down on his skull, and the rest of it laid limply tucked behind his ears. He looked like a drowned rat in Laxus's opinion.

"I don't know what's worse. The fact that we just locked lips for the fan girls or the fact that we're wearing see through togas. Did you really have to go commando today, Bix?" Laxus sat down and put his arms on his knees. They needed to collect their thoughts before they went back up to a psychopathic Adamantine Dragon Slayer else she could just send 'em back down here.

Bickslow leaned back on the rock wall and tilted his head up. His red eyes stared up to where Adamine should have been if she hadn't flown off with her new wings by now. "Yeah, you should just be disappointed that you didn't get to see Adam in her pinstriped thong. Quite the memorable experience if I say so for myself." He coughed one more time.

Laxus rubbed his jaw, trying to get the taste of Bickslow off of him. "Does sound like a nice moment, but what are we going to do about her? She's gone crazy."

"If we had Nab with us, he could talk to the dragon, and I could try to get to Adamine's soul. Before she broke the floor, I saw her soul. It's weakening, and we need to get a hold of it fast before she's stuck like that forever." He nodded to the oculus shining moonlight on the cavern floor in reference to Adamine's psycho behavior.

Laxus nodded but didn't say more. His gaze was trained on the approaching mages. Levy, Gajeel, Evergreen, and Freed were now released of their chains. Laxus and Bickslow would appreciate that treatment as well.

Levy got down in front of Bickslow while Freed wrote a rune on Laxus's bindings. In seconds, the chains disintegrated to nothing.

"What the hell was all of that about?" Evergreen snapped. She may have been talking to the group with her, but she was snarling up at Adamine or where Adamine had been.

"I don't know, but we need to get her control over her body back. I would say that we needed to make a lacrima to seal her powers, but I have one of the lacrima she wears. They're not normal," Freed explained. He held in his hand one of the lacrima shards. It must have fallen down with them. He was definitely worried about the normally feisty dragon slayer staying in this crazed state.

Levy on the other hand looked at the people around her. They were villains, but they were injured. More so than their group. "We need to go something about the people down here, too. If we could get a call out to the Magic Council, they could take care of them."

Gajeel shook his head at her kindness. He would have just left them here to rot.

"Do you think you can send a message to anyone, Laxus?" Levy wondered, remembering his ability to Thought Project.

"Yeah, I should be able to get a hold of Gramps, but do we really need to involve the Magic Council? They hate us, and we don't exactly like them either. I don't anyway," Laxus complained, suddenly dreading two thoughts. One was the thought that his gramps would see him wearing this weird toga thing, and there was no telling who else in the guild would be witness to such as well. His _schlong_ would be on display for the whole guild, not that it embarrassed him, just that he didn't want to have to hear about it for the rest of his life. The second thought was that the Magic Council would send them more paperwork and complaints. Laxus didn't like either, and that isn't even mentioning the fact that they would probably start plotting how to get rid of Fairy Tail again.

"Laxus, the guild can't handle something of this magnitude. We need their help," Freed urged with Levy backing him up.

With a snarl, Laxus decided he'd give in. He began to call for Master Makarov.

* * *

The guild was its usual rambunctious self as Makarov enjoyed a beer with the rest of the family. Natsu and his team had come back from a short mission. Panther Lily was sitting with Charla and Happy. He had been upset at accusing Adamine of being a traitor and now appeared to be thinking of ways to apologize. Cana was downing a massive tanker of booze. Somehow, Bacchus had gotten involved in the drinking competition. Makarov had no clue when he had gotten here. Yes, everything was standard and exciting minus six guild members and a woman Makarov seriously needed to apologize to.

When a dripping wet and mostly naked Laxus appeared in the guild via Thought Projection, Makarov unconsciously spit his booze out at the hologram. "L-Laxus, why did you call me like this? Are you at a Greek fraternity party?"

Laxus looked to be trying for patience as the rambunctious guild took notice of Laxus's hologram. Natsu cried out, "Laxus, did you catch Gray's stripping habit?"

Erza gave a confused look to the hologram. "I didn't realize stripping was contagious. I'll need to take proper precautions when around Gray."

"I don't think stripping is contagious, Erza. He was just joking," Lucy explained, blushing at the sight of Laxus. She knew he was built. She just didn't realize he was built _everywhere_. _Thump a quarter off that ass_.

"If it is contagious, Juvia has caught it as well!" The water mage reached for the buttons of her clothes, but Lucy stopped her before she could. "Do not stop me, Love Rival."

Laxus pinched the bridge of his nose, suddenly hating the fact that this projection sent over his physical appearance. He had known this was going to be annoying. "Listen, Gramps. I need a favor. We need help from the Magic Council."

"The Magic Council. Why?"

Laxus began to delve into the details while the guild was still going on about stripping being contagious. Sometimes, he wondered how these idiots became the strongest guild in Fiore.

Makarov gave a scholarly nod of his head. "I'll alert them ASAP. But, do you have a plan for retrieving Adamine? How did a dragon soul get inside of her anyway?"

"We have no clue, and we're figuring that out right now. So far all we know is that Bickslow has to help us get to her soul. It's… dying." Laxus tried to hide the somber tune of his voice, but it slipped through against his best attempts.

Laxus went silent for a moment. His lips form a thin line of tension. After a while, he continued, "Do you think Nab could help us with this?"

"Nab?" Makarov raised an eyebrow and looked to the man standing in front of the request board. He had turned his head towards the hologram at the mention of his name.

"Yeah. He's a Seith Mage. Remember?" Bickslow suddenly butted in on the holographic image. Without his helmet or at least a visor on, the whole guild turned their heads towards him.

"Why is everyone wearing see through togas?"

"Are you sure they aren't just at a frat party?"

"I'm jealous. Frat boys always have the best booze," Cana whined, clearly inebriated and pressing a bottle against her lips.

"Quiet, brats! Adamine needs our help. Now isn't the time to be worrying about booze and togas!" Makarov's voice boomed, and he gestured for Nab to stand beside him.

The tan man took his position then asked, "What do you need?"

Bickslow explained, "Adamine's possessed by a dragon, and I need to figure out how to get her soul to take control of her body." A sudden uneasiness filled Bickslow's body as he remembered something from the Battle of Fairy Tail. He had knocked out the Animal Possession mage and told Nab the man was too weak to be one of his comrades. Now, he was asking him for help. It left a bitter taste in Bickslow's mouth.

Nab scratched his head. "I can't do much since I'm not there." The group looked disheartened, so he quickly added, "I can say that since the dragon's at the front of her consciousness that if you weaken her body, the animal spirit will weaken. How did she get a dragon inside of her exactly?" They all shrugged. "Yeah, weaken her body and trap her. From there, I don't know what to do to get a human soul to react, but what I do is coax the animal to trust me."

Bickslow knew about that. When he captured a wandering soul, it wasn't that much different. It was about befriending the soul and making a pact with it, a pact of trust.

"Sounds easy enough. Knock out a crazed dragon slayer and let Bickslow take over," Laxus grumbled, irritated by how much power he could still feel coming from the dragon slayer even at this distance. The entire cavern had shaken when her lacrimas had broken, and the air had rippled like she had control over it. To make things worse was that she saw them as enemies_._

* * *

**Ah! I am so eager to write the next part of this. *Random Singing of Joy* Any who, I have to admit that even I giggled a bit when writing on Laxus giving mouth to mouth to Bickslow. I just couldn't resist. Oh! I may have two chapters up today because I'm extremely excited about writing tonight. I only have a few more days until I move, so I may be writing with the enthusiasm of a complete lunatic! Thank you for reading!**

**Leave a review if you feel the urge!**


	23. Fight Your Friends

**So, *girlie squeal* I just saw how many people have been reading my story, and I cannot believe that I'm past one thousand readers right now. *Gives a performer's bow* Thank y'all for the continued support, and thank you so much for commenting. Comments help me write so much.**

* * *

Fight Your Friends

The dragon paced in her den. Her body was riddled with sharp adamantine spikes. They shot from the vertebrae in her spine and out from her elbows. Although they were threatening in appearance, they were a deadly kind of beautiful. This was her den, and anyone who approached it would have to face the wicked beauty that guarded it.

After a moment of checking the entrances of her lair, Adamine crawled back over to where the moonlight rested on the only thing that soothed her. It was a massive carving in the center of the sacrificial chamber. There was a large diamond lacrima imbedded into the floor, and it made up the eye of a white dragon. Everything was engraved here into prefect works of art, and they were all hers to guard.

A kind of power emanated from the lacrima, and as she held a diamond shard up to sink her teeth in it, her free hand stroked the diamond lovingly. There was great, great power coming from that lacrima, and she felt inclined to guard it. It was the only kind of solace that she found in this frightening world where every turn she made caused her to think of horrific things.

The sound of footsteps made Adamine smash the diamond in her hand into even smaller pieces, and she tossed them into her mouth before readying her body into a battle stance. A low growl reverberated from deep within her chest, and when she finally saw the intruder approach from a hallway, she held herself closer to her lacrima.

There was a great amount of space between her and the intruder. He wore the remnants of a cloak around his body. Dark plum colored hair fell into his face. He was snickering with a wicked laughter as he continued to walk like a mad man towards the edge of the broken hallway. The stone floor was about to drop him straight back to where everyone else had fallen, but cards flew all around him. They made a pathway that had him crossing the life threatening height.

"Firmalione," the man greeted. His hands were stretched out on either side of him, and his head was leaning to the side. He looked like a crazed man about to wrap the dragon up in Death's Embrace.

The dragon snarled back at him. Her tail rose to flick behind her, and her wings stretched out to make herself look larger. She was a fearsome sight as she held her ground against the approaching enemy. In a voice more dragon than human, she ordered, "Leave!"

The sight of him made more memories flash through Adamine's head. She hated these memories. She wanted to hide from them, bury them in the raging river deep in the caverns.

The man continued his approach, and when he stepped foot on the platform shaped like a massive dragon, Adamine saw a sudden flash of another man cross over him. Zeref. Her heart raced, and she felt her body falter. It went down on one arm, and she had to force her body not to cower at the sight.

Images of blood and death ran across her mind at just the sight of that ghost.

"Come here, Firmalione," he urged. He held out his hand to the dragon girl, and she flinched unwillingly. When Adamine didn't come to him, he made a gesture with his hands. She watched as her shadow crawled from the ground towards him. It stretched out until stopping underneath his hand. "Come here. I promise that I won't hurt you."

Adamine backed up until she felt her foot nearly go over the edge. She couldn't use her wings. They were frozen. Her tail had stopped moving and had wrapped around her leg. The only things she could move were her shivering legs and arms.

The man still urged, "Just take one step." His fingers moved again. Without making herself move, she was suddenly drawn to the man. Her shadow was shortening and pulling her forward like a leash. A tan hand touched her forehead like someone might rub their hands through the fur of their pet. She saw the face of Kalin flash over with Zeref again, and Adamine closed her eyes shut tight. She didn't want to see this man, the man who'd killed her parents and locked her underground. She felt like a child, and that Zeref was the boogeyman under her bed.

"That's better," Zeref purred through Kalin's lips, and he ran his fingers through the hair around Adamine's horns. He ran his hand along the length of one before touching his fingertip to the point of it. Instantly, blood flowed from the sharp tip. "Now, Firmalione, show me where your body is." He removed his hand to tap the bloody finger against her forehead.

Adamine's eyes flashed wide, and darkness overtook them. They coated over black before she moved to stand. Brainlessly, she walked to the diamond lacrima. Her hand rose and pointed to the diamond in the dragon's eye.

"Open the seal for me," he soothingly demanded.

Her mouth was just about to open when a blast of lightning slammed down between the two mages. "Why won't you get hit and stay fried!" Laxus roared and in a flash of golden light was between Kalin and Adamine.

The Raijinshuu, Levy, and Gajeel crossed the distance to join the blonde dragon slayer. They, too, got between Kalin and Adamine. Levy and Evergreen went to the woman who was possessed two times over, but she still had her finger pointing at the lacrima. Her lips were parted and waiting to speak. She looked like a doll on a string.

Kalin stood up from his crouched position and put his hand to his forehead. He gave a grin with pearly white teeth. "I guess you have me cornered. Fine. I'll give you the girl back, but listen to me, Adamine. I'm far from done with you." Cards flew all around his body, and when Laxus went to attack, he was thrown backwards by a dark force. In the blink of an eye, Kalin and his cards were gone.

Adamine's body slumped to the floor, but when Levy and Evergreen tried to come to her aid, stone shot up in spikes from the ground. The whole group gave a surprised escape into the air. Long, wavy hair whipped around, and Adamine set her white eyes on the new intruders in her dragon's lair.

* * *

_Knock her out, capture her soul. Knock her out, capture her soul,_Bickslow heard repeated in his skull. His babies were chiming the instructions over and over again inside of his head since he hadn't placed their souls into anything yet. He could put them into any inanimate object, and he had five pieces of Adamine's shattered lacrima he was planning on putting his poltergeists in.

As he looked at Adamine snarling up at him, he thought of how different this match was going to be from the first time he had ever fought Adam.

* * *

_Twelve Years Ago_

_Magnolia_

_Middle of the Woods_

"Fight me!" Adamine snapped. She had darted out in front of him and now was leaning forward with both hands on her hips. This was the fifth time she had done this to him since they had gone on a mission without Laxus and the rest of the Thunder God Tribe. It had been Freed's idea since the man had gotten the vibe that Bickslow thought she was good looking.

She had fought everyone in the Thunder God Tribe and had battled Laxus when he had called her weak. The two of them had ended in a tie with stars dancing over each other's heads. It had been humorous.

Right now, Bickslow's eyes ran over Adamine's body from behind his visor. She had her hair tucked inside of her trademark camouflage bandana. A few unruly caramel strands peeked out along the sides of her head. The position she was in gave him a wonderful view of her plump breasts bound tight in a black tank top. He could see just the least bit of her abs before her skin was covered up by shredded shorts that had gotten her the undivided attention of every male they had passed on their journey. Long, sun kissed legs teased at his masculinity, and he ended his appraisal by looking at her gladiator shoes. Her neon green painted toe nails were bright enough to glow in the dark when they'd been hunting cave dwelling wyverns.

As fun as the prospect of fighting Adamine was, Bickslow wasn't sure that he wanted to wind up like Freed and Ever had when Adamine had challenged them. The totems bobbing around his head shot behind him at just the thought of being covered from head to toe in bruises that even Porlyusica had raised brows at. Poor Laxus had gotten hurt worse. The old loner woman had thought he'd gotten hit with a train.

Now, the sexy and extremely scary dragon slayer was challenging him once more. She put a hand on her bicep and struck an athletic pose. "Come on, Bix. I'll go easy on ya."

He gave a snicker. Yeah, she'd pushed a button with that. Bickslow sat his gear down beside a tree. The movement had Adamine letting out an excited squeak before she copied his reaction. She bent over and pulled out a necklace with an emerald lacrima attached to it.

Bickslow was used to seeing Adamine's body decorated in those green orbs, but he had no idea she kept so many. She had one on each wrist, each ankle, each ear, and now she sported one that hung from a choker around her throat. With the leather band now secured, she turned on him.

She cheered, "You go first!"

Bickslow shook his head. "Alright, babies! Let's put this chick in her place!"

A few seconds later and Bickslow was nearly unconscious. His head lolled over to the side, and Adamine drug his body over to a tree. Without any knowledge of what it did to him, she plopped down in his lap. She wriggled around to retrieve bandages from her backpack.

"Oops. I guess I went overboard… Sorry, Bix." She bit off a length of the bandage then stuck it to his face with gentle fingers.

His face flushed against his will as he stared at the girl sitting on his lap. "Na. I let you win. Next time you won't be so lucky," he said, voice cracking with nerves. The totems were sitting scattered beside him, and when Adamine leaned over to pick one of them up, he wanted to smash his head against the tree. She was moving right on his groin without any idea of what it made his brain go straight to.

She picked up the totems one by one and pressed her lips against the wooden dolls. After she was done tending to them, she glared at him. "That's utter bullshit, and you know it. I can't wait to tell Laxus I kicked your ass!"

Bickslow grinned evilly. "Ah, yeah. You're gunna tell Laxus. Are you?"

She nodded playfully. "Yup! I'm gunna tell Laxus and the rest of the Raijinshuu just how you got whooped by a girl half your size."

Bickslow tackled Adamine and ran his fingers along her exposed sides. She screamed beneath him. "Still going to tell them?" he asked with an arched brow even though she couldn't see it. Adamine's leg ran up his, and she knocked his knee out from underneath him.

When his head was within her reach, she snapped her skull forward. Instead of the head splitting pain he was expecting, Adamine rested her head against his forehead. "Fine!" she huffed. "But, if you keep doing that, I'm going to give you the worst Glasgow Kiss you've ever felt." Her fangs flashed underneath him, and she beamed up at him with green eyes sparkling.

* * *

Bickslow cleared his head of once pleasant memories. This fight wasn't going to end as sweetly as that one had. This fight had the potential for snapping bones and bleeding skin. He'd be lucky if he could even get Adamine inside of his control.

* * *

**Just out of curiosity, would y'all like to see a love triangle, potentially a love square, between Adamine and the guys of the Raijinshuu? I feel like she's Laxus's type because she's tough. She's Bickslow's type because she can take a joke and put it back at him. She's attractive to Freed because she's honest, educated, and loyal.**

**Adamine's completely oblivious to attraction and flirtation, so any guys that she gets chasing her will be completely viewed as friends in Mina's mind until I choose a permanent suitor for her.**

**Put your opinions in the reviews. Perhaps, a poll would be a better idea for this... Hmm... Pondering. Pondering. Thoughts. Thoughts.**


	24. Catch and Release

Catch and Release

Adamine launched her clawed hands at Levy but was met with the blow of Gajeel's iron club. The impact sent Adamine flying. A rough _Oof_ sounded from her lips when she rolled over and over again. Claws sunk into the stone floor to right her body, but more assailants came.

"Don't be merciful just because she's your friend!" Laxus commanded. He shot a strike of lightning down on Adamine, but she rolled her body to evade it. Once she had righted herself, Adam sunk her hands into the stone to throw up a shield of diamond that was underneath the floor. More lightning slammed into it.

Evergreen commanded her Fairy Magic to use Leprechaun on Adamine. The mage snarled, "Bare your fangs at me one more time, Adamine, and I swear, I will rip them right out!" Adamine let loose a roar that threw Evergreen against a wall, but the mage came back with a vengeance.

The Absolute Shadow version of Freed smashed his fist against Adamine's body, and the woman let loose a harsh breath of air from her lungs. Her claws sunk into Freed's arm. She pulled him closer to her then returned the favor by thrusting her fist into his face.

She thought she was getting a leg up on him, but when Freed dashed off, it was because Bickslow aimed Baryon Formation at her. The dragon lunged at Bickslow.

"Solid Script: Fire!" A blast of fire slammed into Adamine.

The odds were six on one. There was no way she could win.

Adamine's head ripped towards the sky, and she released a roar so powerful the floor began to crumble at the edges. Power like never before swirled around Adamine's body. Her wings outstretched.

Once she launched herself skyward, she spun releasing flames and diamond scales. "Blazing Winds of the Adamantine Dragon!" the beast inside of Adamine roared.

Freed sunk his claws against the stone to hold fast against the powerful winds coming from her wings. He encased his hand into a dark, electric orb then charged forward. His armored body went through a melee of diamond scales and waves of fire before he launched an attack on Adamine's body.

She growled/ howled in pain but slashed Freed with her armored wings. The wings that had looked angelic were actually covered in large diamond scales that sliced Freed's body before sending him flying backwards.

Laxus took that opportunity to shove his lightning infused self against her. One hand gripped her throat and the other snagged a hold on her upper arm. Using his grip on her, he pumped wave after wave of electricity directly inside of her.

Her head began to go slack, and Bickslow stared inside of her soul. It was working. The dragon soul was weakening. "Do it, Levy!" he barked out.

The Solid Script mage nodded, and Laxus flung Adamine's body towards the oculus. "Solid Script: Cage!"

Adamine was trapped inside of iron letters. When she tried to sink her teeth in to bite down on it, she spat out the foul taste. Gajeel's assumption had been correct. She couldn't eat metals.

The girl may have been weakened, but anyone else wouldn't have known. She thrashed inside of the small cage. Her tail swung out against it. Her claws ran deep fissures in it. The iron would only last for so long against Adamine's diamond claws.

Bickslow got in front of the cage. Glistening claws shot out, unable to reach him. He activated his Human Possession Magic. The dragon was deeply interwoven with her own soul, but Adamine was trying to fight for control. When the dragon locked eyes with Bickslow, Adamine's green soul tried to fight harder. She could recognize them. Her fight was just weak.

"Mina," the man spoke. From behind a slotted visor, two green eyes glowed. They were wild like an animal's eyes. She just snarled at the strange thing. Humans shouldn't have glowing eyes. It wasn't normal. "Mina, snap out of this!"

Like a wild animal, Adamine paced in circles in her cage. When another mage approached, she tried to thrust her claws against his face, but it didn't work. The cage suddenly had a rune around it that repelled the blow of her talons. Bickslow knew it must have been Freed approaching then.

He looked back towards the dragon slayer in the cage. She was so strange, so animalistic. It was the first time he had a chance to really study her dragon appearance. A film had completely covered her eyes. Her body was covered in jagged stone scales. She had small spikes that erupted from her tattered shirt and massive wings that resembled vertebrae before fanning out like a scaly version of feathery wings. Her tail flicked angrily behind her. It was segmented with smooth stone scales on the bottom then large plates of sharply tipped white-gray stone scales were layered on top of each other. They came to a pointed tip. She was wildly beautiful and wickedly frightening all at the same time like an untamed animal you wanted to reach out and touch. But, you never did because you knew it would take your hand off without a second thought. That was what Adamine was now, a wild animal.

Her appearance on the outside was reflected on the inside as well. Her soul was covered in jagged points, and claws clutched the feminine, green silhouette that was her soul. Her green soul was weak, pulsating faintly. The dragon soul was powerful. It glowed with healthy vibrancy.

Bickslow placed his hand flat on the rune that kept the two of them at a safe distance. This completely sucked. Adamine's soul was withering away, being consumed by the dragon.

"Adamine, I don't know what to tell you to get you to look at me, but you'd better do it soon, woman," he explained. It wasn't the nicest thing to say to her, but it did cause her weak soul to move a little.

It was extremely weak. He would have been able to grab it easily had she not been enveloped in a dragon, but she was.

Evergreen came to Bickslow's side, and she snapped, "Listen up, Mina. You had better listen to Bickslow. I have to give you the chewing out of the century for attacking me. Me! I mean really! I'm the only girlfriend you have, and you're going to try to smack me around! I'm not having it, Adamine. Do you hear me?"

Adamine's soul twitched a little more. Bickslow couldn't believe it. Yelling at her was having some effect. He had planned to go with the sweet and sentimental approach, but that had just felt too pathetic to him. It wasn't his style at all, but this was.

Freed to a step closer. He was still in battle mode in case Adamine found a way to escape. He got down to their level, and she slashed her claws at him. "Adamine, this isn't you. We need you to snap out of this. Whose manga am I going to get to read before it hits the shelves?"

She sat on her haunches like an animal and tilted her head at him. This shit was actually working! "Oi, Laxus, ain't you pissed at Mina too? Come over here and let her know," Bickslow suggested.

The slayer raised a blonde brow but decided to approach the wild female. She launched herself at him. Apparently, she remembered who had hit her with a lightning charged body.

"Yeah, yeah, go on ahead and try to come at me. I could take you out with one hand tied behind my back, woman." The dragon snarled at him.

"Are you sure this is helping?" Levy asked, nearly jumping when Adamine's blind eyes looked to her. Gajeel just snorted. "It looks like you're just making her madder."

Bickslow kept his eyes focused on Adamine. She was still broken up from fighting, and he had no clue what this state was doing to her magical energy. Still, it looked like all their snarling was helping Adamine fight against the dragon. Just a little more, and he might be able to grab her.

"Yeah, it's helping," Bickslow explained with little expansion on the reason why. Adamine rammed her head against the cage so hard it cut her forehead. He knew how hard headed she was. She'd head-butted him before. It was an awful feeling but her favorite close combat move. "If she knocks herself out first, that'll make it even easier."

Gajeel decided to take part in the roast. "Oi, stoner chick, when you get normal, I'm going to have to fight you. You can't be as tough as everyone makes you out to be. All that floor breaking shit was all for show. We're still alive. Aren't we?" Of course, he would be enjoying this.

Levy crouched around the cage as well. She put to hands on the cage. "Ya know, my friend Lucy is writing a book. I bet you two could help each other write. Maybe, you could draw something to inspire her."

The woman swung her head around to each person. She was surrounded by comrades. They had faith that she could fight the dragon eating away at her. Her soul started to glow brighter. Brighter. Brighter.

Laxus snickered at the group around him. If this had happened seven years ago, he would have left Adamine to be eaten by the dragon inside of her. He would have thought that she was weak to have to mediate her powers. For the longest time he had believed her to be weak. Now, he knew that was the opposite.

She wore the lacrima to keep everyone safe. There was nothing weak about that. She didn't just wear them for her comrades either. She wore them to keep every single stranger safe around her.

He put his hand on top of the cage. "Mina, I'm making you join Fairy Tail when this shit is behind us. Alright? And, don't even try to tell me no 'cause we ain't having it."

A sudden flash of green, and Bickslow latched his control onto Adamine. The girl froze and stared straight at him. It was then that everyone knew she was captured. "Let her go, Levy," he mentioned, never taking his eyes off the woman he was controlling. "Freed, stay ready in case she goes berserk."

Gajeel broke the bars off, eating them quickly. The entire cage was dismantled by his teeth shortly, but Freed stayed ready as Bickslow got Adamine to stand up.

Controlling someone without the intent of destroying them made this a tense situation. If his control slipped just the slightest, Bickslow ran the chance of either absorbing her into his body or letting a mad woman out on the loose. If he had to choose, he would rather suck her inside of him and worry about expelling her later.

"I'm going to let her go," he explained when Adamine's soul stretched out to fill her body. The dragon was shrinking in size as well. With the shrinking of it, Adamine's tail, wings, and other dragon attributes sheathed themselves inside of her. He had no clue where her body stored those things, but he wasn't worried about it. Bickslow commanded, "Sleep." Then, he started to retract himself from her soul. As soon as he was completely out of her, her body swayed forwards. He captured her limp body and blinked a few times before letting a grin stretch across his face. His babies were cheering, "Mina!"

He lifted her up bridal style instead of what he normally did when he had to carry her— which was tossing her squirming body over his shoulder.

"So, that's it?" Gajeel almost whined. "I didn't get to fight anybody!"

Laxus pinched the bridge of his nose. "You knocked Adam's stomach into the next century, but you say you didn't fight anyone," he hissed.

Freed smiled. "Let's get her to Fairy Tail. I'm sure she'll need to rest for a while before she can take all the fights and chewing out she'll get later on."

They were all about to start walking when a tiny Exceed looking dog came charging into the Dragon's Maw. She cried out, "Mina! Mina!"

Gajeel bared his teeth at the wolf. "What the hell? Isn't she supposed to be stoned?"

"I suppose that when the dragon receded, so did its magic," Freed explained. He was now in his normal form and skeptically looked at the dog named Black Pearl.

She stopped in front of Bickslow and summoned a pair of bat wings to fly to Adamine's loosely hanging head. Instead of a scythe on her, she now sported a bow with a quiver on her hip.

"Is she okay? She can't be dead. She's fine. Right?"

"What does it matter to you? You were the one who tried to go after her lacrima to make her go bat shit crazy," Bickslow said, his voice quiet but hostile.

"I-I…" Black Pearl hung her head. "I know… Can you at least tell me if she's okay? I'll leave then."

Levy was the one who stepped up to that plate. "She's fine. Would you like to come with us to Fairy Tail? You can make sure she's better."

Gajeel gave Levy a 'You-Can't-Be-Serious' look, but Levy stood firm.

Pearl retracted her bat wings then stood barefoot on the stone floor. "I can't. I hurt, Mina. She won't forgive me. I won't forgive myself… They lied to me, and I believed them. Mina wouldn't abandon me. I was stupid…" The little dog creature held her furry arm shyly, and her black Mohawk fell into one eye. It was then that the group noted her pierced, pointed ears. Emerald lacrima.

Levy leaned down to Pearl's level. She was just as big as Happy or Charla like this, but she could grow as large as Panther Lily when she wanted to. Levy wondered what she was. She was canine, so she couldn't be an Exceed. She had bat wings instead of angel wings, too. "If that's what you want, can I at least tell you were she'll be at?" Pearl gave a shy nod, out of character for the creature Levy had seen fighting Gajeel. "Do you know Magnolia Town? She'll be there."

Pearl nodded then used her wings to quickly fly out the oculus. Moisture dropped against Adamine's unconscious face. The strange canine was crying.


	25. Prelude to Hope

**Hello, everyone! I'm actually surprised that I'm putting a chapter up today because I'm moving back on campus for school to start back today. I hope you enjoy this piece today.**

**Leave a review if you get the itch. Your responses help me distress from the impending doom of critique crazy architecture professors. Ack! The horror!**

* * *

Prelude to Hope

The trip back to Fairy Tail had been boring, Adamine being unconscious the whole ride home. The most entertaining things to see had been Laxus and Gajeel getting motion sickness on the train. Laxus got extremely embarrassed and disappeared to another section of the train. Gajeel sprawled out on the seat he was in and moaned the entire journey.

The group had gotten to an infirmary and were cleaned up while getting some questionable looks from people in Clover Town. Why? It was because they were carrying an unconscious girl around. The Trimens and Ichiya had met up with the bandaged warriors before they had gotten to the train station. At least, they understood why Bickslow and Laxus were taking turns carrying a dragon slayer.

"We heard you were in town, and I wanted to give Adamine this as a get well present," Eve explained. He handed Levy, since she was the only one not snarling at their presence, a deep scarlet rose.

"Even recuperating, she has a wonderful perfume," Ichiya had stated, hoping for Adam's health in his own creepy way.

Ren had done his tsundere thing, and Hibiki had explained the reason why they hadn't turned the group in to Fairy Tail. All in all, the most excitement anyone had gotten was around the Blue Pegasus members.

Right now, Bickslow was laying Adamine's still knocked out body onto a bed in the Fairy Tail infirmary. Her soul was still weak from being chomped at by a dragon. Out of everyone, he understood why Adamine needed this recuperating time. Her soul was having to build itself back up. The dragon eating away at her had been the equivalent of a demon devouring a human soul. Although her body was healed, her spirit was not.

"How is she doing?" Erza questioned. She peeked her head in.

Laxus, Gajeel, Levy, and the Raijinshuu were all draped in the infirmary in some way. Freed was sitting on the inside of the bay window. Evergreen took a spot at the foot of Adam's bed. Laxus had pulled up a chair to straddle it with his arms over the top of its back. Levy sat along the curve of Adam's waistline. Gajeel tried to look unconcerned as he took a spot on the bed beside Levy and Adam. They all must have looked to be an interesting sight according to Erza's expression.

"Great on the outside, but not so good on the inside. Her soul got torn up. The body heals faster than the soul," Bickslow explained, suddenly feeling scholarly. No one else got souls like he did, and he'd never had to explain how they worked until this happened with Adam. He was starting to feel like a school teacher. "She does talk in her sleep though."

"She does?" another feminine voice asked. Wendy walked into the infirmary with Lucy. Great Mavis, if everyone kept pooling in like this, they were going to need a bigger infirmary. "Do you think I can do anything to help?"

Bickslow shrugged. He honestly had no clue. Instead of answering, he sat down on one of the beds. Resting his elbows on his knees, he set back to studying the unconscious girl's green soul.

To him the soul was a reflection of the person that it dwelled inside. All bodies were hosts for a much more important thing that controlled the body the way he could control his babies. Adamine's soul was an extremely innocent but sensually shaped soul. It was a vibrant green that glowed when in extreme emotion. Right now, it was stretched out inside the length of Adamine, but instead of that brilliant glow, her soul had dark parts where the dragon had been feasting on it.

The dragon soul was still prominent as well. It expanded around Adam's green glow. The dragon soul was a steel gray with sharp edges. It had its tail wrapped around the leg of Adamine's soul and rested its head almost peacefully atop Adamine's head. This was the way that the souls had always looked to him, one never overpowering the other. He just wondered if the reason she wasn't waking up was partly because she didn't have her specially made lacrima.

Natsu suddenly appeared in the room, and before he could launch a barrage of questions towards Bickslow, Laxus snarled, "Not now!" His voice couldn't even spark an argument, and the coldness in Laxus's eyes had Natsu slamming his jaws shut. Good.

More people were making their way into the infirmary. Gray, his stalker Juvia, Droy, Jet, and all the Exceeds were now finding their way to check out the unconscious girl on the bed. After hearing Laxus's low growl, they stayed quiet. Bickslow was glad for that. He'd been harassed with enough questions. He just wanted the dragon slayer to wake up.

Makarov and Mira Jane were the next to enter Party Unconscious, but they weren't greeted with glowers and growls. It looked as if Adamine really had flipped Fairy Tail on its head. She had done the same to the Raijinshuu all those years ago.

"Alright, brats, you've seen her. Now, scram before I decide to pick your missions for you!" Makarov ordered. They all shuffled their way around each other for a quick escape. Once only the people Adamine had directly affected on the mission were in there and one Mira, Makarov began his questions.

"Has she been unconscious the whole time?"

Bickslow decided that he might as well go through another grill session, but Laxus cut in for him. "Every now and then she'll wake up, but Bickslow says the dragon starts to eat at her soul again. She tries to go berserk and Bix has to knock her back out. We don't know what to do?"

"Where is her jewelry?"

"A group of freaks smashed it. That's why she's acting like this. We're just glad she isn't in her dragon state when she wakes up."

"Dragon state?"

"Yeah. She gets wings and the whole package with her lacrima busted up like they are."

Makarov gave a moment of silence. He was studying the whole ordeal, likely trying to find a solution.

It was Levy who spoke up next. She mentioned. "I think I know how to get Adamine's lacrima back. Remember the dog Exceed we saw? She had on emerald lacrima. They were in her earrings. No one knows where to find her though. Her name is Black Pearl."

"A canine Exceed named Black Pearl. I didn't think there were dog Exceeds?" Mira Jane mentioned, more to herself than anyone else.

"Adamine talks about her in her sleep," Evergreen stated. She and Levy had kept Adamine with them at night when they stayed at a hotel. They knew the most about Adam's sleep talking.

"Sounds like we'll just have to find her then," Makarov announced. He spun on his heel and began walking towards the door. When he heard someone about to question him, he just held his hand up to silence them. The man obviously had something in mind.

* * *

_One Day Later…_

Black Pearl sat on the beach in Akane. Behind her she could hear sounds of the amusement park and happy tourists being tugged around by lovers and children. It was an ironic backdrop to the loneliness and disappointment that was taking her apart piece by piece.

She wasn't in her chibi form. As a matter of fact, she hadn't been since she'd left the Dragon's Maw. She didn't feel like the cute canine that Adamine toted around on her shoulders and took swimming on this very beach. She felt like the untrustworthy traitor of her only comrade in the whole world.

Pearl was the last of her kind, sent here from another dimension for the survival of her species. She had felt so lost, so alone, and then a brunette dragon slayer with nothing but the clothes on her back had come to rescue her from monsters Pearl had never seen before. She was so stupid to have believed that Adamine had left her out there.

Adamine couldn't have known that the monster had flung her away and she had fallen into one of Kalin's teleportation cards. The man had sent her to place identical to the forest she had been in, but it had been far from it. She had searched tirelessly for Adam, crying out her name over and over again. When Kalin had found her, she hadn't realized he was the man who hunted for Adamine. Later she had though, and they had convinced her of a brutal lie.

Tucking her knees closer to her chest, Pearl hugged her long legs. She missed the tireless workouts Adamine would wake her up to each morning. They would do yoga first then go into lunges, burpees, squats, and other maneuvers. Adamine had whipped Pearl up into shape, nearly killing the young Hellhound at first. She had thought that living her whole life in a boot camp had been rough. Adamine put them to shame.

There were all kinds of annoying things that Adamine did that Pearl would give anything to have back now. Magnolia, she thought. That was where Mina was, her Mina, the crazy dragon lady who chased her out of their hotel's kitchenette when Pearl was trying to sneak eat her surprise birthday cake.

She rested her chin on her knees and let out a sad sigh. She really should get going to Magnolia, but damn it all she was apprehensive about it. Pearl didn't think that she could stand it if Adamine turned her away… which was what Black Pearl deserved. Still, her heart was telling her to go.

"Why don't you?" a voice asked, nearly making Pearl jump clean out of her short fur.

Leaping to her feet, Pearl pulled her bow off her back and readied a sleep spell arrow from her adamantine quiver. "Who are you?" she snapped, canines flashing.

The little old man raised up a hand in is defense but kept an easy smile on his face. He greeted, "Yo! Put the arrow down, and we can talk about your friend. Do you remember an Adamine Terra?"

Mina? How did this short, old man know Mina? Curious, Pearl slipped her arrow back into her quiver. She tilted her head at the man. "Go on."

"I'm Makarov Dreyar," he began. Dreyar. Dreyar. Pearl felt like she knew a Dreyar. Ah ha! Laxus! The other dragon slayer that Adamine had been with… The ones that made Pearl severely jealous. "I'm the guild master of Fairy Tail, and I was hoping you could help me out with your friend. You see, she's very sick, and we don't know what to do to help her. I heard from a friend she'd made that you might know of a way to help?"

Pearl felt her heart freeze then drop inside of her gut. "Adamine is sick," she said, deadpan voice.

"Yes. Do you think you could help her get better? We guess that it's because all her lacrima are broken," Makarov explained.

Now, Black Pearl completely sheathed her bow across her back. She fell to her knees in front of the old gentleman and pressed her forehead to the ground. "Please! Please, let me see her! I-I think I know how to fix it!"

Makarov looked taken aback by the sudden gesture, but a smile began to slowly spread its way across his mouth. "Of course, now, if you'll stand up, I'd be happy to take you to Magnolia." Before he could move an inch, Black Pearl had picked the man up and spread her bat wings. The dark amethyst wings had them lifted in the air and high above the amusement park that Makarov was gawking wide eyed.

"Which way do I fly, master?"

"W-west, and call me gramps. I'm sure you'll be a part of Fairy Tail very soon."

"I'm forever in your debt, gramps." Pearl cast the shocked man a cheerful grin then used her powerful wings to send her shooting out into the rosy horizon.

* * *

**I hope y'all enjoyed the bit about Pearl. She's actually a very important character. I'm thinking of doing some one shots of some ideas I have like where Pearl is from and Bickslow's past. I don't want to reveal too many juicy details. I want you all to read about those. Tell me what you want to read in a one shot, and I will happily write it up for you.**

**I have decided on a love triangle though.**

**I've never wrote one, and I'm sure you have already guessed who will be the angles in my triangle. :)**


	26. To Kill the Beast, Be a Beast

**At last, I have finished packing and getting nice things to put in my room at school. I really do hope I can keep posting at a regular rate, but I can't promise anything. Sadness.**

**For this chapter, I feel like I have a bit of explaining to do.**

**Black Pearl comes from another dimension like Charla, Happy, and Panther Lily. I wanted to do a kind of afterlife type deal to connect Adamine even more to her old friend Bickslow. That's the only info you get. ****_Gihi!_**

**The questions here are, Just how long has Bickslow known Mina? Is there a secret relationship that I may or may not write a prequel to this story about? You tell me, you're the ones who I write for.**

**I hope you all enjoy! Oh! Oh! If you do have questions or just want to tell me how bad or good the story is, drop a review down. I don't view negative criticism as a bad thing. Actually, I'm the type to get told how awful something is then hunt down that person, so we can figure out how to fix it.**

**I have a net, and I'm not afraid to use it!**

**Laxus: She's insane. Don't mind her.**

**Me: Hey, now, I don't want to here that from you, Sparkler!**

**Freed: She is a bit unorthodox, but I kind of like it.**

**Me: Thank you, Freed. I'm glad someone appreciates my work.**

* * *

To Kill the Beast be a Beast

Adamine's body was still unconscious. Her breathing was coming faster and faster. Soon, she would wake, and he would have to put her back to sleep. With each second that she woke, the dragon began to feed. It had gotten worse over the past few days. He was having to knock her out at least ten times a day now. Each time she woke up, more damage was put on her soul. She was fading faster than she was rejuvenating.

The rest of the Raijinshuu were all asleep. Evergreen had fallen asleep on the bed beside Adamine. Freed had passed out on the bay window. Laxus sat in a chair asleep with his arms still crossed. He was the only one awake, and right now, he clutched at Adam's hand.

Without his helmet on he pressed her slender hand against his forehead. Adamine had a funny thing about people's foreheads. She head butted them there, kissed them there, and rested her own there. She said that it made her feel more connected to the person she was with because Firmalione would put her snout there when Adam cried. Right now, it was the only thing other than talking to her that made him feel like she would be okay. It must have been a third eye thing because he did feel closer to her soul this way.

"Mina," he whispered. "I've got a lot of things that I need to tell you, so you can't leave us yet. Evergreen still has to chew you out. Freed still has to read the manga you've been working on. He has your backpack, but he won't look at any of the comics because you didn't tell him he could go through your stuff. Some kind of chivalry mess he has a complex about. I've already looked through them all. Laxus also wants to kick your ass for throwing him into a river. I've still got to sexually harass you because I saw your underwear. Don't leave us, woman. If you do, I swear that I will find your soul and haunt the shit out of it. It'll be a reverse haunting." He ran his thumbs over the heel of her palm, feeling her open it up to unconsciously run her fingers through his Mohawk.

He felt weak, and it was a downright to the pit of his existence nasty feeling. His dolls were sitting on Adamine's body. They hadn't moved or said a word aside from her name when everyone was asleep. One sat on her chest. Three were on her stomach. The last one rested in her palm where she had curled her hand around it. He never thought that he would care so much about any one person aside from Laxus and the Raijinshuu.

This was why he never let people see him. He made up an act, to keep himself comfortable around people more so than for them to like him. Every time that he got close to someone, they died or got hurt. That was why he craved strong allies. Laxus was the perfect example of that.

Long ago, he had befriended people with ease. His dad being a Seith Mage had always kept him comfortable with seeing things others couldn't see. Bickslow had grown up with the spirit of his murdered mother dwelling in a platinum skull his father wore on a silver chain.

He'd never felt weird or different until the noblemen had found out about them. That was why he ran from Lancet. That was why he encouraged Adamine to do the same. Bickslow looked down at the laminate floor of the infirmary. Adamine didn't know all this. She didn't know that Bickslow had been her childhood friend before his dad had shipped him out of the country. The two of them had played together in Kindred Spirit.

She had been the shy girl who sat in the back of the guild. He had been to overzealous offspring of the most powerful Sieth Mage in Lancet. Bickslow had always teased young Adamine about the way she ate diamonds. He'd played numerous pranks on her just to rile her up. He loved to piss her off, but he never escaped unharmed. Adamine always beat him up. He never let it get to him. He messed with her even worse and took his beatings on a weekly schedule.

It was like clockwork. Wake up. Shower. Eat breakfast. Prank Mina. Get beat up by Mina. Get scolded for messing with the shy girl. Eat lunch. Throw food at Mina. Get beat up again. A powerful bond had developed between the two mages, but then noblemen had found out about Kindred Spirit. His father had woken him up in the middle of the night then shuffled him out of an underground tunnel dug beneath the house. He and other Kindred Spirit children had escaped that way to Fiore. That day, though, Adamine hadn't been in the tunnel. He hadn't seen her at the port either. He had gone through the Underground Railroad mage style, but didn't see Mina, not even for a second.

Bickslow clenched Adamine's hands tighter. He murmured, "You can't die before I tell you."

"Tell her what? Are you going to confess that you llllllllllike her?" Makarov questioned, rolling his tongue in that typically humorous way Happy did. Right now, though, it just made Bickslow tick his jawline. He didn't even look towards Makarov until the man called, "Come on in. It's okay. If I had to sneak you through the back door because you were too scared to see anyone, then, you can at least enter this room."

Now, Bickslow turned. He felt his temper flare up at the sight of a tall canine. Seeing her in this state made the memory of what she started with Adamine run through his head, but she was Mina's friend, the woman's only hope right now. He could kick her around Magnolia later.

* * *

Black Pearl stood in the hallway. She had one hand on the doorframe, and the other clutching the adamantine quiver Adamine had given to her. Being a Hellhound, Pearl could see the beast sucking the life out of her comrade.

Shyly, she took a step. Then another. Then another. This was a tense moment for Pearl. There was a way to fix this, an old way that her people rarely practiced in her dimension, and it involved shooting an arrow through Adamine's skull. She hadn't expected… this.

"Well, tell me what you see. You said you can see souls. Now, what is it?" Makarov encouraged. He was slightly annoying but extremely concerned for Adamine. Pearl was in his debt so thoroughly.

Pearl ran a hand over her throat at the sight of her former enemies laying draped around the infirmary. Bickslow, the Seith Mage, was the only one awake. Makarov had recapped over everyone's names since Laxus was the only one she remembered.

It had taken them a day to get back here, and that meant Adamine had been out four days. Her soul had taken on serious damage. It was deadly at this point. She could be gone any minute.

"Her soul is nearly gone. The dragon has it mostly absorbed. We need to do a series of things, but one involves me shooting Adamine with one of my magic arrows. Also, I will have to go into my Hell form. That could be potentially dangerous as well." Pearl had explained to Makarov that she had levels of transformation. It seemed that there was another creature here who could transform like her. His name was Panther Lily, but his transformation was simpler. He remained in a chibi form normally. Pearl was normally large and more humanoid. She could only stay chibi for a limited time, but she had not explained the fearsome thing she turned into when she transformed into her demonic state. Only Adamine had ever seen it and lived.

Bickslow stood up from his seat. "No way in hell I'll believe that bullshit. You aren't shooting anything at Adam!" The chair was a brutal squeal when he abruptly moved. It fell behind him and woke up the rest of the group. Freed leaped upwards to draw his sword. Evergreen had her fingertips at the ready on her glasses. Laxus reared back like a beast about to strike. As soon as he met eyes with Black Pearl sparks flew.

Before anyone could lunge for her, Makarov made his body grow larger, and he put his arms out to guard the canine. "No one moves an inch," he growled. "I brought Pearl here to save Adamine, and you should be glad that she even wanted to come back with me. Now sit back down and listen!"

Reluctantly, the group all sat down, but Laxus stayed standing. With his arms crossed over his burly chest, he sized the canine up. The scythe she had was gone, but she was still armed. Laxus was ready whenever she was.

Pearl on the other hand just stood there. She didn't look frightened off. Her crimson eyes were level with Adamine's body, but she wasn't staring at the body on the bed. She was staring through that and to the cancerous beast eating away at her comrade. She would save Adamine and get out of here.

Makarov encouraged, "What are the steps?"

"I'll perform the spell Exorcism. I'm a master of Hell Magic, but I do know some Heaven spells. This spell will allow me to transfer a part of my soul into an arrow that I will put into Adamine's third eye. As a Hellhound I possess multiple souls within my body." She nodded towards Bickslow. "I'm sure that you have realized this by now. "The three souls, which are conjoined inside of humans and other creatures, never fuse inside of Hellhounds. There is the Soul of Heaven, the Soul of Hell, and the Soul of Mortality. Whenever using the spell Exorcism, you have to send the opposite of your soul into the host body. My Hell Soul is the most prominent, so I will send my Heaven Soul into Adamine. The issue is that you will have to deal with my Hell Soul. I'll turn fully demonic and could harm Adamine since my Hell Soul requires the absorption of other souls to survive. My demon self will want to eat all of your souls while I battle the dragon to beat it into submission." Bickslow tried to open his mouth to complain.

She cut him off. "While you're holding my demon in place, I'll need someone to create Seven Seals. These seals are the same emerald lacrima that Adamine used to wear before I b-broke them." Her voice cracked at the reminder, but she kept going. "I have the materials because I used to have to repair Adamine's lacrimas all the time." She reached into a backpack that was slung over one shoulder. "Usually, there is a captive demon while an angel or mortal performs this spell. We don't have that luxury. You will have to find a container for my Hell Fire to forge the lacrima."

Freed interrupted, "Why can't we use normal fire or a dragon slayer's flames?" Ah, at least someone was buying her explanation. Everyone else looked skeptical.

"Exorcism is a Heaven spell. The opposite of Heaven is Hell, not Mortality. I could explain to you the story of our existence, but we don't have time. Adamine is going to wake up soon, and she doesn't have enough soul left to hang on for much longer. Do you have a container that can hold Hell Fire?"

Laxus asked, "What about Natsu? I don't believe all your Heaven and Hell bullshit, but if you think it will save Adamine, it's more than we're doing now. He's ate god flames, my lightning, and only Mavis knows what else." Pearl gave a nod. It sounded good. Hell Fire burned everything it touched, a mortal with a flame absorbing gut would be the best option. He walked to the door. "I'll get him then."

"Now, I need someone to create Seven Seals. The seals must be encrypted with the seven chakra in Heaven Magic lettering. Anyone got paper?" Her words were rushed. She was trying to get all the information out before Adamine woke up. They only had so much time, and the longer Pearl's Heaven Soul was purging the beast, the more likely Adamine would survive the encounter. Makarov handed her a piece of paper and a pen.

After drawing seven elegant symbols, Pearl slapped the paper down on a bed. In rough handwriting it labeled the chakra. "From top to bottom are the Root, Sacral, Solar, Heart, Throat, Third Eye, and Crown chakras. It doesn't matter where you put them on her body just as long as they will be constantly touching skin."

Evergreen stepped forward to look over Freed's shoulder. He was devouring this new information with a frightening thirst for knowledge. "How do you know so much about this and Adamine's situation specifically?"

"I lived in an alternate dimension, another world similar but very different from Edolas. There are only three kinds of magic which can be learned by any creature there. They are Heaven, Hell, and Mortality. Before the Mortal Apocalypse, I studied Hell and Heaven Magic. When I met Adamine, I had thought she was an angel. Angels and Demons only possess Heaven and Hell capabilities. Since she had two souls and was so kind, I had made the assumption. About Adamine specifically, I don't have a clue. This is just the best hypothesis."

Ever snapped, "So, you're going to mess with Adam's soul based on a guess?"

Pearl whipped her head up from explaining to Freed how to create the lacrima. "Do you have a better idea because if you do I so would love to hear it?" Pearl's voice was full of threats. She dared the woman to try and sway Pearl from this task. It wasn't like she wanted to tamper with her best friend's soul, but if it was the only way to save her from death, then she would have to do it. Apparently, she was the only one here qualified enough to do so.

When Evergreen just threw her head away to snarl at the wall, Pearl gave a nod. She went back to talking to Freed, but she didn't miss how Evergreen turned to look at Adamine. Her eyes were full of concern. So, the snob did have a heart.

"So, could I place the symbols like I place my runes?" Freed asked. He readied his hand to create one of the symbols but before he did it, looked cautiously at Pearl. He was right to do so. Heaven symbols could be explosive if placed the wrong way.

"Yes. Here, try it on this paper first. All Heaven symbols have a physical effect. Write Heart. It won't make anything blow up."

Freed summoned magic, feeling it flow from a whole other part of him than his usual magic. He was learning another magic, and apparently, it was Heaven Magic. Astounding! He watched in astonishment as the symbol was written in his personal handwriting. As soon as he finished it, the symbol pulsated before the entire paper melted away to form an origami heart.

"Heart manipulates things to make it what you feel the most. It's often used for love and hate spells," Pearl explained. She heard the door open, and Laxus walked in with a pink haired man. That was her container? A pink haired young man who didn't look like he knew that vests were supposed to be worn closed? Oh, well, she couldn't be picky. She had a dragon slayer to save.

"Bickslow," Pearl called. The man staring deeply into Adamine's soul ripped his eyes from Adamine to glare at Pearl. "I need you to be the Gatekeeper. In Exorcism there are certain people for certain tasks. The Container, the Beast, the Smith, the Gatekeeper, the Angel, and the Guardian. I play the role of the Beast. Freed will be the Smith. Natsu is the Container. I need a Gatekeeper, an Angel, and a Guardian. The Gatekeeper watches over who enters and exits the host body. The Guardian keeps control over the Beast and keeps it from attacking everyone. The Angel gives his or her soul over to the Guardian and the Gatekeeper for added protection against the Beast. Bickslow, you're the only one who can possess human souls. You have to be the Gatekeeper."

He gave a snarky response. "Well, if I'm the only one qualified, I don't get a choice. Like I'd say no anyway." He looked to Adamine, seeing her soul fading.

"I'd love to play the Guardian if it means that I get to kick your ass," Laxus growled to Makarov's annoyance.

"Perfect. That leaves the Angel. No one here can split their soul that I know of, so that role will be lowered to just keeping me from destroying everything." Pearl gave a steady look to Evergreen.

"Good! That means I can help Laxus toss you around."

"Then, we're settled. Does everyone know their jobs?" She looked around. Natsu was the only one standing there confused.

"Uh, yeah. What do I do?" the pink haired male asked with a hand raised.

Laxus snorted, "Do what you always do. Sit there and eat fire."

"I'm all fired up!"


	27. Get Inside Your Head

**The incantation Pearl uses comes from the song ****_My Body is a Cage_**** by Arcade Fire.**

* * *

Get Inside Your Head

Pearl cracked her knuckles as she looked to her unlikely comrades. Exorcism was a wicked spell that could go horribly wrong. Usually only highly trained angels and mortal priests used it, and Black Pearl had never had any experience. It didn't matter. This was the only thing that Pearl could think of, and she didn't want to have to resort to _that_ spell. Expulsion. She mentally shivered.

No one in this room had ever seen an Exorcism performed, and Pearl prayed to the Guardians that they would keep their heads cool.

After a deep intake of breath, Pearl began to explain the last few details. "When I go into my demonic form, I will turn into a four legged wolf-like creature. Backwards spiraling horns will come from my skull, and I recommend not getting near my back. I will grow spikes along my vertebrae like Adamine does in her dragon form. The longer I'm in this form without my Heaven Soul, the crazier I'll get. I can control it with my Mortality Soul but not as well because it drains the power directly. Our Hell forms are only to be used in extreme circumstances. Also, I don't know how much Hell Fire I'll attack you with. Natsu, I heard that you tried to eat a dragon before, so I hope you can hold it all in."

Pearl checked everyone out one more time. Laxus looked ready to smash Pearl in. Evergreen sported the same expression. Bickslow looked determine. His lips were held in a thin, straight line. Freed had all seven of his raw emerald lacrima placed in front of him. He had already made three out of seven and was quickly realizing just how unpredictable Heaven Magic could be if you weren't completely calm. Natsu looked… famished. It unnerved Pearl just the slightest bit, but she ignored the feeling.

"Everyone is ready?" she made sure of. When everyone made some form of agreement with her, Pearl reached towards her quiver.

Her heart raced in her chest. This was extremely dangerous. Pearl would be endangering the one she loved, and the people that Adam loved. She could not fail. Failure would mean never getting another chance. This was Pearl's chance at redemption. She would not allow herself to falter.

Once she'd steadied her shaking hand, Pearl began to sing.

_"__My body is a cage  
We take what we're given  
Just because you've forgotten  
Doesn't mean you're forgiven_

I'm living in an age  
Still turning in the night  
But when I get to the doorway  
There's no one in sight

I'm living in an age  
Realizing I'm dancing  
With the one I love  
But my mind holds the key

Still next to me  
My mind holds the key  
Set my spirit free!"

Light began to swirl around Pearl's body. Powerful winds gusted around the room, sending papers flying.

"The hell is going on?" Laxus roared when Pearl's eyes rolled back in her head.

Her body seemed to be moving of its own accord as the shakiness in Pearl's hands steadied themselves. The arrow she had ready was aimed directly for Adamine, and before anyone could stop her, Pearl seemed to go up in a flash of light then reappear over Adamine.

She laid on the bed with an arrow directed at her forehead. Bickslow tried to pull her off, fearing for the girl who still slept unconscious, but his hand was burnt by white fire. "Is this the Hell Fire?" he barked out, turning to Freed who had actually been listening during the explanations.

"No! It's Heavenly Fire. Don't touch her, or you'll ruin the spell!" Freed yelled over howling winds.

"Release the chains of Hell and come forth to me, Guardian of the Underworld!" Pearl howled when the shimmering arrow was released from the bow. Everyone tensed up when they saw it burying itself inside of Adamine's skull, but instead of blood pouring, the arrow faded away in white light.

Th winds died down only to be replaced by a vicious roar. Black Pearl's body flung back in the same way Adamine's had when she had gotten possessed by the dragon, and Bickslow could see a black soul wrapping itself around a grey soul. He also noticed something else. With the disappearance of the arrow came the disappearance of Black Pearl's third soul, the white soul. The spell was actually working!

He threw his head towards Adamine. White light had embraced her body it looked to be trying to pull with the way that it rippled around her sleeping form. Adamine's breath gave a sudden hitch, and the hand Bickslow hadn't realized he was holding tightened around his. There was so much going on that Bickslow didn't realize a hulking four legged beast was about to wrap its fangs around his throat.

Evergreen threw herself at the beast. Her arms wrapped around its neck to put it in a headlock, but she was ripped backwards by Laxus when he noticed spines bulging from the Hellhound's back. Shockwaves of electricity slammed into Black Pearl's new form, but the beast wasn't down for the count.

So much was happening in the little room that Makarov and Natsu's heads were spinning. Explosions and flames were bursting from Freed trying to create the seven lacrima. Evergreen and Laxus were wrestling a massive canine monstrosity. Bickslow had his Figure Eyes activated and was trying to hold down Adamine's suddenly flailing body.

"This shit is crazy!" Natsu howled more excited sounding than scared. When a blast of black fire shot his way, he tried to gobble it up like normal, but it burnt the inside of his mouth. Looks like he was going to have to do what he'd done in the fight with Zancrow.

Makarov saw the demon slip away from Laxus and Evergreen, and he joined in the fray. So many booms, flames, and winds came out from around the infirmary that it caught the attention of guild members and people walking in the streets. The doors tried to open, and Freed quickly slapped a rune on the door when Erza tried to come busting in.

"What the hell is going on in there?" Gray exclaimed and slammed his shoulder into the door. It repelled him so hard he fell from the upstairs railing and onto the main floor.

"You can't come in here!" Freed proclaimed. "Mira!" he called out to the mage who had sworn to be the guard over the door. He heard some screams of terror then a beastly snarl. After a few minutes, all was quiet on that side of the door.

* * *

The chibi form of Black Pearl entered Adamine's mind through the arrow. With her bow and arrow strapped to her body, she crawled through the thoughts of Adamine.

The mind of a damaged young woman was a strange thing as Pearl strolled from one memory to the next. She needed to flash through each one of these memories to the point where Adamine was installed with the dragon soul. There, she would be able to fight the beast.

Right now, Pearl stood in the back of what she assumed was Princess Erianna's bedroom chamber. The young girl was sitting in front of a window and peering down curiously at a man walking to the castle. He had an older boy at his side. A shadowy woman placed two hands on five year old Adamine's shoulders and leaned into her ear. "That is your fiancé, Erianna. I want you to be very kind to him. He will be your king when you get older."

Pearl shook her head. The shadowy figure must have been Adamine's mother, and since she was dark with no real appearance, Adamine must not remember her mother. This was not the memory. Black Pearl took note of how Adamine couldn't see the appearance of the young man and his father either, then opened the door of the bedroom to enter another memory.

This time, Pearl entered a dank cell. A pang of guilt hit her hard in the heart when she realized just where she was. She was in the underground cells of one of the Lancet Dragon Priest's hideouts. A shivering girl sat alone in a corner. Pearl could tell by the red in her eyes that she was suffering the effects of the hallucinogens the priests fed the girls with.

Just when Pearl was trying to leave this memory, she turned to see the ghost of the man who had killed Adamine's parents. He leaned down to Pearl's level and reached through her to pat Adamine on the head. It was just a hallucination. He didn't see her, Pearl thought. Well, she was sure of it until the hallucination put one finger to his lips and met Pearl directly in the eye. He said, "Shhh. Dragons are coming soon. Don't let them hear you." He disappeared, and along with him Pearl was shot into another memory.

This time, she felt cold fear running through her body. Other people weren't supposed to be inside of Adamine's soul. It was just supposed to be her and the dragon. Pearl hadn't seen another soul. Only another soul could see her. That meant…

She opened her eyes slowly then had to hold back a shrill yelp when she felt cool air blowing her Mohawk out of her eyes. The dragon was asleep in front of her. Wait. This wasn't right.

The dragon shouldn't be sleeping. It should be attacking the young woman sleeping against it. Pearl took a quiet step around the massive, horned dragon to look at Adamine. She looked exactly like the sleeping girl on the bed, but inside of her mind she looked sickly. What should have been a brilliant green aura around her spiritual self was dark hunter green, turning to black.

Pearl looked at the sleeping dragon. It wasn't absorbing any of Adamine's soul. As a matter of fact, the grey aura of the dragon seemed to be holding back the change from green to black. The dragon wasn't the problem here. Then, that definitely meant…

Black Pearl's thoughts were cut off when a hand mussed up Pearl's hair. She looked up to see the man who had shushed her in the jail cell. Oh, Firmalione, no. It was Zeref.

* * *

**Ah! Zeref is back! Yay! He's my favorite antagonist in the series I'm planning to make with this story. I just can't help myself. She has such a history, and I want to write it all.**

**If you have suggestions for how I should write the prequel and sequel to this story, please, tell me! I want to write what you all enjoy.**


	28. Memories from the Soul

**Maybe, I'm just being a complete goof for saying this, but I think this is one of my cutest chapters yet. Oh, but don't let the deter you from reading! Of course, I installed some action bits, but I'm going to let you get inside of Adamine's head in this chapter.**

**It will go over some of her past, and even a bit of the past that Bickslow had forgotten when he'd gotten bespelled a long time ago. Enjoy and review! I love hearing from you all.**

* * *

Memories from the Soul

"Have you eaten the Hell Fire?" Freed was finally able to ask now that he had successfully placed runes on each of the seven raw lacrima. The elegant markings were awaiting the Hell Fire to activate the shaping process as Black Pearl had explained.

Natsu beamed with his fangs. He was enjoying this way too much. Another blast of black fire shot his way, and he gobbled it up since he'd emptied himself of dragon fire.

"Let it go!"

Flames poured from Natsu's lungs and scorched the runes. Laxus, Makarov, and Evergreen, who had knocked the massive wolf unconscious for the seventh time since Pearl had entered Adamine's body, chanced a look. Bickslow watched in appreciation when the fire receded from one lacrima to create a large heart that Freed was looping onto a leather band he'd salvaged from Adamine's choker. This entire operation was running smoothly on the outside, but the inside was another matter entirely.

Bickslow looked back at Adamine's soul. He could see the large dragon. It was wrapping itself even tighter around Adamine, and the girl was growing even weaker. Pearl's white soul was trying to wriggle between the two, but she had suddenly stopped. He wanted to know what was going on in there, but he couldn't see what Pearl was seeing.

A great flash of black shot from Adamine's body, and her eyes flashed open. When he looked to them, he saw that one was black and the other was white. Without thinking, he gripped Adamine's shoulders. She was dying! Her soul was turning black, fading into darkness before his eyes! This couldn't be good. He was about to do something, anything, he didn't know, but something gripped his own soul. His body suddenly felt extremely light and airy.

Everyone started to call out his name, but he didn't know why. He tried to turn to them and freaked out at the sight. His body had fallen from the chair. Laxus had picked him up by the shoulder and Evergreen slapped the side of his face to get him to wake up.

"Now, what's going on?" Evergreen hissed. She was going to slap Bickslow again, but the demon had slipped from Makarov's choke hold. It came barreling towards her. She gave it a bitch slap that should go down in history. The creature was flung against a wall, and Ever turned it to stone despite knowing it could break free. "I don't have time for your bullshit, demon bitch!"

Bickslow would have laughed. He wasn't given the luxury because something seemed to grip his soul. He was drug straight down into Adamine's body, and he didn't even fight it. He had a chance to figure out what was going on. He wasn't going to miss out on it.

* * *

Pearl felt like she was suffocating as Zeref approached her. In his hands was a swirling ball of death. Hell Magic. Zeref was the Fallen. The Guardian of Hell, her creator.

She looked towards the ball of darkness he held in his palm. It was sucking up the dragon soul but doing so through Adamine. Adamine was the catalyst.

"You weren't supposed to live," Zeref explained and took another step her way.

"You aren't supposed to be out of Rift. How did you get out?" Black Pearl remembered, her father had been Zeref's jailor. Was Zeref's freedom what had brought on the Mortal Apocalypse?

"I have my ways. Besides, your kind was stupid enough to believe that something I had created could keep me locked up forever." He came closer, and Pearl withdrew the bow she sported on her back. "Ah. Ah. Weapons are poor sport against an unarmed opponent, Pearl. You know that. It was the first rule of fighting your father had taught you when you were a pup."

Black Pearl felt a shiver of despair sink inside of her body. He had known her father. Zeref moved his hand, and Pearl's bow dropped to the ground. "Good, dog. Now, sit and stay."

Pearl couldn't fight the control the creator of the Hellhounds had on her. She fell to her knees and couldn't move.

Zeref cracked a grin and directed his palm towards Adamine. Like a vacuum Zeref sucked her and the dragon's soul up.

There was nothing Pearl could do. Her body was no longer her own. First, he had robbed her loyalty. Now, he robbed her mobility. Black Pearl hated this man. Inside of her head, she said, "It's up to you now, Seith Mage. I just hope that you figure out what to do."

* * *

Bickslow stood in the guild hall of Kindred Spirit. How had he gotten here? Duh. He'd touched that crazy ass Heavenly Fire. Okay. That made sense. Was this the inside of Adamine's head? It might be. The guild looked exactly as it had before Bix had left for good.

He scanned his red eyes across the room. The bar was less impressive than Fairy Tail. As a matter of fact, it looked like the shack that Macao had the guild in when they had gotten back from Tenrou. When he was young, there had been more mages than there had been space to put them all.

That was why the guild had a massive fenced in backyard. The outside of the guild looked like an inconspicuous farmhouse. The inside was a bar with offices for the master, the infirmary, and the kitchen. The backyard was the only place where everyone could fit since it was a ton of farmland with horses and sheep to give the farmhouse an even more genuine look.

Bickslow and his father had begun to live in the second story of the farmhouse when the guild master had died. That had been with Bickslow's father had taken over. It was awful really. Bickslow could remember faces and places but he couldn't remember a single name, not even his own. His father had bespelled him with something he'd called Familiar Amnesia. Bickslow had no clue how it worked because the only person Bickslow could remember was Adamine and that had only been after he had been around her a while in Fiore.

Bickslow took a seat at the back of the guild and watched the events play out.

"Oi! Da, who's the weird girl eating rocks? She never leaves." a young but familiar voice asked when Bickslow saw the upstairs doors open up. It was a young… him. Weird… Bickslow had never thought he'd actually get to physically see his younger self. This had to be Adamine's memories.

He checked himself out. Ah. He had known that he was a cute kid when he was little. Little Bickslow was wearing a dark purple shirt with a skull across the front. He sported black pants and black shoes with green shoelaces. There was a large bandage that stretched across his nose, but he didn't have his facial tattoo yet. On his wrist was a silver chain with a wooden totem hanging from it. Ah. Bickslow remembered, that had been his inspiration to put his spirits in wooden totems. His dad had been the best at whittling.

Bickslow's dad put a hand in his son's wild black and deep blue hair. "That's Adamine Terra. She's a dragon slayer and wicked tough. That's why she can eat diamonds. The old guild master took her in when he found her stealing food in the market. She sleeps downstairs."

Bickslow nodded his head, hair falling into one of his eyes. "She never talks. Is something wrong with her?"

"No. She's just shy. Nothing's wrong with shy people." Bickslow's dad said his name, but it came out in a strange scratch like the TV signal had gone out. Bickslow continued to listen even more intently. Maybe, if he listened, he could figure out how to get to Adamine's soul.

A mischievous glint shined in little Bickslow's eyes. "I bet that I can get her to talk."

"Oh, really. How much do you bet?"

Bickslow pointed to the silver skull his father wore on a chain around his neck. "I bet my allowance for this week, and when I win, you have to let me wear Mom's necklace for the entire weekend." He held up the fingers to point out he wanted Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

His dad touched the charm on the necklace and held it out from his neck. "Three whole days? What do you want Mom's necklace for for three days?"

"I'm going to summon her like you do!" Bickslow cheered. He put two hands in fists and stared up at his father with an excited expression on his goofy face.

Bickslow's father ran his thumb over the smooth silver. "Those are some tough terms, kiddo, but I'll do it on one condition. You have to get her to have a whole conversation with her and record it. I want proof. Shake on it?" He reached out his large, calloused hand, and Bickslow quickly snatched it up.

"Alright, time to start Scheme 3,589: Get Adamine to Speak a Whole Conversation!" He dashed down the stairs and straight to the girl who was gnawing on a brilliant diamond. From the far end of the bar, Bickslow's father watched the two while he set about preparing the guild for its morning opening.

Bickslow watched as he approached the girl. Adamine took one look at Bickslow's younger self and looked right back down to the piece of paper she was scribbling on. She had the basic outline for a person drawn out. There was a myriad of utensils for her to create with. She had charcoal, pastels, pens, markers, and, her favorite, pencils.

"What are you drawing?" Bickslow wondered to the girl. He was leaning over her shoulder to check out the image. There was obvious appreciation for the work of art she was making, but he still said, "It really sucks."

Adamine's hand faltered with her pencil, and she erased the accidental marking Bickslow's comment had made. After brushing the eraser shavings off her paper, she continued her work.

Bickslow huffed and looked to the totem on his bracelet. "This is gunna be harder than I thought." The doll cheered, "Destroy it!" Immediately, Bickslow's face lit up, and he proclaimed, "Great idea!"

A hand reached across the table, and Bickslow snatched Adamine's drawing from her. The little Adamantine Dragon Slayer leaped up and snapped, "Give it back!"

Even at this age, Adamine was strikingly beautiful. She had a chaotic mess of wild waves that cradled her pale face. Her pink lips were full and pouty. She dressed a little differently though, more like how she had when they all had first met.

She wore her bandana looser so that it made a pointed flap behind her head. She had on a leather coat that covered up her arms to the back of her knees. Beneath it revealed a white shirt then tight leather pants. Black boots came up to her knees. She had a kind of rebellious pirate girl appearance that always seemed to work somehow on her little frame.

Bickslow shook the paper in the air. "I don't feel like it, stoner. Why don't you come over here and make me before I blow it up." He held up the first doll he'd ever gotten, and the totem giggled. A cruel laugh erupted from Bickslow's lips, and he stuck his tongue out. He was enjoying Adamine's upset expression. It was the first time she'd ever done anything other than draw and eat rocks.

"Fine then! I will, Tongue Boy!" Adamine snapped out. She charged towards Bickslow, but the young boy just weaved around the tables in the guild. People were already starting to fill in.

They took in the antics of the Guild Brat and the Shy Girl with a pleasant expression. They were probably happy the girl was doing more than drawing.

"Missed me!" Bickslow laughed. He slid underneath the request board then grabbed a hold of one side. As soon as Adamine was within reach, he threw the board down. It crashed right on top of her.

"UGH!" Adamine growled viciously. Like a demon she ripped free of the board, and Bickslow suddenly tripped on a mage's outstretched foot. He thought he was going to be able to get up and start running again, but as soon as he started to move, a dark shadow crossed over his body. "Give. Me. The. Paper. Back."

"He's dead," the mage that had tripped him laughed.

"Poor boy is about to meet his end."

"Should we tell them to get a bed ready in the infirmary?"

"I don't think he'll live through the beating."

Bickslow turned around and stared up in horror at the frightening girl over him. Her body had turned to shiny stones, and she looked to be burning with fury. He slowly laughed. "Ha. Ha. Ha. H-hey, stoner, look what I found lying on the floor." He held the crumpled paper up. "See? It's your drawing. Ha. Ha. Funny how it wound up on the floor and all… crunched… up…" Adamine took a step closer to him, and he squeaked, "Not the face. Anything but the face."

After Bickslow watched himself be destroyed by Adamine's diamond hard fists, he saw his father bend down to put a hand on little Bickslow's head. "I got her to talk," the boy coughed.

"But, you didn't record it. Did you?" his dad laughed.

Bickslow looked completely heartbroken, and he flopped out onto the wooden floor with his totem chiming, "Should have recorded!"

As soon as that was over, Bickslow stared as the entire scene began to fade out of view. As soon as that one was gone, he appeared in another. This time he was outside the guild and with young Adamine on a mission with Bickslow. Was he going to have to relive all of her life experiences before getting to her soul? How long was that going to take?

* * *

Bickslow stared after the girl leaning against a tree. This was the fifth memory that he had been through, and this time Adamine was younger. She set her chin on her knees and looked to be ready to cry. "Why can't I remember?" she whispered to what Bickslow now knew was called a Hellhound.

The creature was in a chibi form and had stopped eating her apple when she'd noticed Adamine's depressed expression. She crawled over to Adamine on her knees and rested her forehead against the sad preteen. "I dunno, Mina. Maybe, it's better if you don't. Everything you tell me that you remember has been awful. Why would you want to remember any of it?"

Adamine was silent for a second before she replied, "Because it can't all be bad. There's no way it was all bad. No one's life is filled with nothing but sadness."

Now, Bickslow scratched his head. After all the memories that Adamine had inside her skull, it was amazing to him that the girl could even think that. She'd been kidnapped young. She'd watched her parents die in front of her. She'd had to fight animals in the wild for survival. She'd stolen food from homes and villages like a street rat. The girl had it rough, but she was still somehow optimistic about her past.

Bickslow had thought his life had been shitty. This girl made him look like a whiney kid who'd gotten his lunch money stolen, but she was more optimistic than anyone he'd ever met. Yeah, she was sad a fair deal, but she corrected it quickly.

The girl moved, distracting Bickslow from his thoughts, and he saw Adamine bite into an apple. Apparently, her sadness was over for now. With a mouth full of apple, she crunched out, "Living with Firmalione was fun, and she's the only thing I can remember. It's like there's these doors and spaces in my head that just lead to other places, but they don't let me get to where I need to be."

Something clicked in his head. Her words had triggered something in his mind, and he looked up from the scene to realize something. There _were_ dark spots in Adamine's memories. There _were_ places that had doors. Wait! That was it! All he had to do was go to those places, and he should go to another memory! Yes. Duh. Of course. Mavis, he was an idiot!

Bickslow turned on his heel and ran away from the girl and her hellhound eating apples in a farmer's orchard. His eyes zeroed in on the dark spot where the peaceful horizon turned shadowy. Alright, now he was onto something._Just wait, Mina. We're going to fix you._

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**So, what did you think? I hope that I correctly translated how I think Bickslow would be as a kid. I just always see him being a carefree prankster with little regard for how people think of him.**

**I hope you enjoyed it. Again, I want you to leave me reviews, and thank you so much for following and favoriting.**

**Oh! I'm working on the prequel to this story where Adamine meets the gang, but I need some help. If you could give me pointers on what all you want to read in a review or a PM, I would greatly appreciate it.**


	29. Souls Melt Together

**Whoo! I got to put up more than one chapter today! Thank goodness it's just the first week of school. I may be able to finish this story before it gets into full swing.**

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Souls Melt Together

Pearl felt a tear slide from her frozen face when she saw Adamine's soul cringe. The aura around her was getting darker and darker. It didn't look like Zeref was going to stop until he had killed the girl. Why? Why did he want her dead?

"I don't," Zeref explained. He could hear her thoughts? "Of course, I can. I created you. Remember? But, you're wrong. I don't want Adamine dead. I just want control over her body. You see, Firmalione sealed her soul inside of this girl when Igneel demanded the dragons to depart from all humans. She just couldn't leave the girl alone. After I found that out, I wanted control over her dragon, so I hunted her down. The issue is that I can't keep control over her because of her pesky dragon. If I completely absorb Adamine's soul, I can get her to lead me to Firmalione's body. She is the only one who can break the seal on the dragon's cave where the dragon's body is. After that, I will dispose of Adamine, but only once her usefulness is up."

"Well, it's a damned shame that isn't gunna work out for you," Bickslow announced as he appeared from the forest. With him were five green shapes that floated like orbs around his body. Since he couldn't get the totems inside of Adamine's body, the souls must have been able to free float in space. Could he fight with them like that?

Zeref cast a snarl and looked to the girl laying along the dragon's side. He couldn't deal with this right now. Taking Adamine's soul required his complete focus. If he fought the Seith Mage then he would have to risk the dragon repairing her soul. Damn it all. He would have to continue this later. The mark was still on Adamine's face. He could still locate her, and he'd just put his own seal on her third eye. He could come back inside her soul at any time. He audibly cursed. With a snap of his fingers, the man disappeared.

Pearl fell on her hands. They were super cute paws instead of humanoid hands. After living so long in her Mortality Soul, it was odd to see her Heaven traits. When she heard Bickslow approaching her, she half expected the man to deliver the beating he had promised. Instead, Bickslow picked Pearl up by her vest and walked with her over to Adamine.

"So, that bastard's just gunna run off like that?" Bickslow growled even as he checked Adamine's soul over. His voice made have sounded hostile, but his eyes were full of concern. Pearl felt guilty for being so jealous of Adamine's new friends. The girl deserved to make better friends than her.

Pearl touched Adamine's soul and breathed a sigh of relief. "That bastard's name is Zeref. He's the Guardian of Hell and isn't supposed to be in this dimension. My dad was the jailor of his soul, but someone woke him up seven years ago. He possessed Kalin and started looking for Adamine."

"Why?" Bickslow had turned his attention fully on Pearl. Adamine was fine. He could afford to look at someone else for now.

"Zeref… thinks that Adamine is the key to finding her dragon, Firmalione. Apparently, she didn't leave all humans on 777. He said something weird, something about Firmalione putting her soul inside of Adamine's body." Pearl shoved her thumb towards the dragon. "I had always known that a dragon lived in Mina, but I didn't realize they could put their souls into other creatures."

Bickslow sat there for a moment. He had his knees drawn up and rested an arm on each leg. For once in his life, he was tired of hearing about possession. He loved ghosts. He loved haunted houses. He loved his dolls, but he honestly thought he'd pass up capturing another if he saw it strolling around right now. Only today though!

"What was he going to get out of it by sucking the life out of Mina?"

"He was going to steal her soul and use it to find Firmalione's body. He talked like the dragon was dead."

"She pretty much is without a soul. You know that. Right?"

Wow. Pearl was actually having a casual conversation with a former enemy. She had thought that he would at least hate her a little more than this… Pearl deserved it. After feeling a twisting sensation in her chest, Pearl replied, "Yeah. I know. The host withers then the soul drifts unless it finishes its calling. Have you ever heard of the Rift? Most Seith Mages have." He shook his head. "Seith Mages are the offspring of the Mortality Soul. The magic was sent here by angels to collect wandering souls of once living creatures. After the souls complete their purpose, they are transferred to the Rift. Neutral souls are mortals. Evil souls are hell souls. Pure souls are heaven souls. How do you not know this? Most Seith Mages do."

He shrugged, apparently done with this serious conversation, and when Pearl looked at Adamine, she realized why. The girl's soul was completely healed. She was starting to wake up. That meant one thing.

Pearl looked at her body. It was starting to dissolve. Their work was done, and it was time to go back. She looked to Bickslow. He was fading too.

"What's going on?" he asked, feeling his body as it rippled in the air.

"Adamine's healed, and the Flames of Heaven are dying out. I have to make a quick getaway before my demon eats your friends. You have a few more seconds if you want to stay." Pearl inwardly grinned. She had added that last part cause she saw the way the man was looking at Mina. He llllllllliked her as Makarov had said.

Bickslow didn't look like he was going to give a verbal response, but his body betrayed him. He was looking at Adamine from the corner of his eye. Light, light blush was suffusing his tan skin. If he had been as pale as Mina, it would have been obvious. Good thing Pearl had been looking for it.

After a shake of her head, Black Pearl let her Heaven Soul's angel wing come out of her right half. Since she was Hell dominant, she could only conjure one angel wing, but her bat wing was a constant. She gave Bickslow a wave he didn't see because he was pretending to not be looking at Adamine waking up and lifted off to the sky. Her body came to the clouds then faded away like white rose petals in the wind.

Adamine's arms went up over her head, and she flopped out the legs that had been tucked under her. Tch. Bickslow should have guessed she wouldn't be an elegant woman first thing in the morning. As a matter of fact, she wiped sleep drool off the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand before cracking her eyes open.

"Mina?" Bickslow wondered to the soul in front of him. The woman opened her eyes up and gave a laugh that seemed to stroke his insides. Graceless woman, sexy laugh. He dug it. He only had so much time to speak to her.

"Bickslow! Figures I'd be dreaming about you." She leaped over to tackle him to the ground, her usual form of greeting. She wasn't gentle in the slightest. Like a dog whose owner had been gone for hours, she nuzzled her face against his neck. "You smell good in my dream too." Sweet Mavis the woman was completely ignorant to how most guys would take this kind of greeting. She did it to everyone she liked.

"Why would you be dreaming about me?" he asked, tilting his head. "Is it 'cause you find me so damned attractive?"

"'Course I think you're good looking. Everyone in the Raijinshuu is and so is Laxus." She sat back on her haunches, but Bix just didn't feel ready to let go of her. She had given him a scare.

So, instead of letting her get away, he tightened his arms around her and pulled her closer. Even her soul smelt good. Her pale skin tempted him to taste it. She thought this was just a dream. Why not? "You scared the ever living Hell out of me, Mina. I swear, if you ever make me think you're going to die again, I'm going to find your soul and haunt the ever living shit out of it."

"You like saying ever living today," she teased.

"Yup. Sure do." He felt Adamine put her hands on his chest like she had that one day when she'd ran into him in his bedroom. Just like he had that time, he felt his head leaning towards her of its own accord. She was close. She thought this was a dream. She wasn't pulling away. In fact, she was smiling. What would it really hurt?

His dolls chimed, "Kiss. Kiss!" Bickslow nearly fell flat on his back at their exclamation. Damn it all! Why did they have to do that now?

"Kiss? I've never kissed anyone before." Adamine tilted her head and studied Bickslow's lips. Ah, hell. Was this really happening? He hated to sound like a pathetic loser, but he'd been after this chick for twelve years. He wanted to do all kinds of things to her lips, her body. "Wanna show me how?" So freaking innocent… So freaking curious...

"It's pretty simple, Mina. Just close your eyes, and I'll show you how to do it," he urged, trying not to let the fact that his body was fading away rapidly deter him.

Even as she did as he commanded, Mina explained, "The last time you said that, I wound up with a scorpion thrown down my shirt."

He snorted. "Sorry to disappoint." Bickslow leaned in with no hesitation. His lips briefly whispered against hers, but when Adamine's sly tongue licked her lips at the same time, he pressed himself harder against her.

The woman responded in kind. She clutched his shoulders so sweetly and melded her lips to hers. Never kissed anyone my ass. She's a damned natural. When Bickslow's lips parted on a breath, he was astounded the she was the one to initiate tongue action.

Her tongue ran against his tattooed one, and she suddenly tackled him into the dirt. Adamine was completely into it as Bickslow let her explore his mouth. She knew just what to do to get him going. Her sharp, little teeth pulled away from him, scraping a bit. Ah. There was the unpracticed affection he was expecting. She recovered quickly to nibble on his bottom lip. It felt like their souls were melding together perfectly.

"Adamine," Bickslow breathed out, "I've got to go."

"Gotta go? This is a dream. You don't have to go anywhere." Curse her and her unintentionally seductive way with words. She put two hands on his chest and tilted her head at him. She could give those sweet, innocent looks that would drive a man wild. Go figure he would be addicted to a chick who was the opposite of him. Cruel irony of course.

"Don't worry, Adam. You can practice kissing anything on me any time you like. You just have to wake up first." His body was fading away even faster, and Adamine's body passed right through him when his soul burst into a flurry of green petals.

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**I'm sorry that there wasn't a showdown between Bickslow and Zeref. This chapter honestly feels lacking without that kind of action, but I do have a reason for it. You will find out more in the prequel and sequel if I do decide to write them. I haven't gotten any comments about that idea yet, so I'm still indecisive.**

**Thank you for reading. Toss a review down about opinions and ideas.**


	30. Family Heals

Family Heals

A sharp intake of breath then feeling him clutch the sides of a bed were the two things that proved to Bickslow that his little momentwas over with Adamine, but, oh, what a moment it was. If her soul was that feisty, he wondered what her body would be like if it was tucked up tight against him. Losing himself in sensual fantasy, Bickslow was brought down to Earthland by the cracking of Evergreen's palm against his face.

"What was that for?" Bickslow whine/howled. He put his hand against the pulsating palm print that was sure to be glowing on the side of his face for a week straight.

"You were talking about tucking someone up tight against you to see what her body would be like! I don't know what kind of wet dream you were starting to have, but if you're going to get turned on do it in the privacy of your own home!" she screeched loud enough for the guild and anyone within a ten mile radius to hear.

Still rubbing his face, he hung his tongue out to snicker, "Just couldn't help myself. I can't promise that it won't happen again." His dolls cheered, "Won't happen!" Evergreen rolled her thickly lashed eyes then turned on her heel all while Bickslow grinned like a mad man.

"Freed, if you didn't live with him, I wouldn't allow them to stay in the same house. Adamine is too nice and loving to put up with that thing." She thrust her thumb in Bickslow's direction. Yeah, she sounded tough and hateful, but it was out of love. Ever knew that Adamine could break Bickslow into tiny pieces if she felt like it. She just liked to play big sister taking care of little sister with Adam.

Laxus broke in, "Speaking of, it looks like she's waking up." He nodded to where Adamine starting to part her lips for her morning yawn. It looked like in the time Bix had spent in Adamine's head that Laxus had put his Sound Pod headphones on Adamine's head. Huh. He never let anyone touch his headphones. Even when a flare of jealousy tried to rear its ugly head, Bickslow stomped it out. Everyone acted different around Adamine. She was just easy to love.

Adamine stretched out so much than her spine curved and after scratching her head until it made wild poofs on the sides of her skull, she blinked her eyes open. "'Sup? Do I have something on my face? Everyone's staring."

Tears formed in Evergreen and Freed's eyes as they charged in to attack Adamine with their affection. Bickslow would have done the same, but he was still on a high from swapping spit with the dragon slayer's soul.

Freed cried, "You were in a coma for four whole days!"

"I never thought you would wake up!" Evergreen confessed.

Somehow, Makarov had gotten in on the love fest. His had his arms around Adamine's neck and apologized, "I'm sorry I sent Team Natsu to kidnap you! Please forgive me, Adamine!"

Laxus leaned back a little from the waterworks and his upper lip curled a bit. "You aren't going to partake?" Bickslow asked when even the Hellhound charged in to apologize.

"I think I'll pass," Laxus replied slowly. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself a bit.

His Sound Pods fell around Adamine's neck, and he didn't even flinch. He seemed to trust the girl with his sacred headphones. Again, that made Bix just the least bit more possessive over the woman covered in slobbery tears and apologies.

"Pearl! You came, too! Makarov, don't worry about it. I would have done the same thing. Evergreen, Freed, what do you mean I was in a coma? Uh. Master Makarov, you're choking me." Adamine tried to wriggle her way out, and before Bickslow could come to the rescue, Laxus pulled Adam out of the love fest to wrap one arm around her. "L-Laxus?"

The lightning dragon slayer inconspicuously took in the scent of her hair then released her. As if to replace the warmth of her body, he crossed his arms over his chest. "You were out four days. Everyone went crazy. You missed it."

"Four days?" Adamine deadpanned before her hands flew to her head. "No. No. No. No. No. NOOOOOOOOO! I missed the deadline!" She hit her forehead against the wall beside Laxus.

His expression was priceless when he jumped back and held his hands up as if preparing to defend himself. After a moment, he grabbed her skull. "Stop. You'll bruise that already thick skull of yours. What deadline?"

"The deadline to submit my comics! I was going to enter a competition to get my works published all over Fiore instead of just the train strip of Hargeon to Clover Town. Wah! If you goofballs would have woke me up in Clover Town I would have submitted the comics." She pressed her forehead flat against the wall once Laxus let go of her head. "I have to wait until next year now."

"I think you may still be in the running, Adamine," Levy explained. She suddenly entered the room with Panther Lily and Gajeel following suit. "I did turn them in after some arguing with Freed about going through your stuff without your permission." She shot a challenging glance at the Rune Mage. He just turned his head away to avoid the glare.

Panther Lily approached Adamine's feet then got on one knee. With his head down he apologized, "I'm sincerely sorry for all of the problems I caused you, Ms. Adamine. You have my deepest apologies." He was about to get on all fours and bow when he caught sight of Pearl in her chibi form.

Something strange happened there. He gave the canine a glance once. Then twice. Then three times. After a cough, he quietly asked, "Who is your companion, Ms. Adamine?"

Adamine leaned back to look at Pearl. The Hellhound was kicking her short legs on the bed and looking particularly sad over something. Ah. A new friend was just what she needed. Adamine got down to whisper, "She's not an Exceed, but her name is Black Pearl. Why don't you go talk to her?"

"I may consider it," the little cat huffed under his breath. Blush was trying to cross over his face, and he refused to look up until it passed.

"He lllllllikes her," a blue Exceed suddenly stated with a rolling tongue.

Lucy smashed her fist down on the top of the Exceed's head then snarled, "Quit being annoying." She looked to Adamine who was standing up and grinning at the people coming in the door.

Once Team Natsu, two blue haired girls Adamine had never seen, and a white Exceed joined the party along with Jet and Droy, Adamine gave a deep bow. "Thank you all for being so kind to me even after I caused you so much trouble. I am forever in Fairy Tail's debt. If there's any way that I can forgive you, please tell me."

Natsu jumped in. He exclaimed, "Don't apologize to us! We were bored out of our heads, and besides, if you would have never showed up, I would have never gotten this tablet!" He held up a piece of stone. Ah. The Tablet of Fire. That reminded Adamine.

"Levy! You and Gajeel found my stuff. I owe you 300,000 jewel! Besides, now that we got it back, I need someone to help me translate. I'll have to pay you for that as well."

Levy just shook her head. "No! You don't have to pay me anything." When Gajeel made a sound of complaint, Levy shoved her elbow into his gut. "Gajeel insists, too. Besides, I already translated. The Tablet has a spell at the bottom. It was the one that broke your final lacrima."

Pearl interrupted, "Actually, no. The spell didn't break the lacrima. That was one of Zeref's incantations. Even in my spirit form I can sense when someone is using Hell magic. The tablet is something else entirely. That was why the Lancet Dragon Priests wanted it so badly."

"R-really?" Levy looked taken back. She abruptly pulled out a book from a bag slung over her shoulder and put on Gale Force glasses. "In that case…" She began to wander out of the room with Gajeel following.

Adamine gave a grin then turned towards Makarov. "Master, is there any way I can sneak the money into their accounts? They deserve it for what they went through because of me."

Usually, Makarov would have denied such a request, but after taking one look at Adamine's heartfelt eyes, he melted. No wonder his grandson and friends liked her so well. Hmm. Perhaps, she would make Laxus a nice wife. Hmm. He may need to get Mira on that. "I'm pretty good at pulling a few strings here and there. How about having Erza convince Levy she doesn't have to pay her rent at Fairy Hills for three months?" Adamine graciously agreed. "We'll need to think of something for Gajeel though." Makarov was about to leave and force more brats to let Adamine get some much needed rest, but he was stopped by Laxus.

"Oi, Gramps. When are we gunna give Adamine and Pearl their marks?" Laxus mentioned.

Pearl's head whipped up as fast as Adamine's did. The Hellhound stammered, "M-m-me? B-but I did so many things to Adam, and…" Pearl's excuses faded out when Adamine scooped the hound up.

"Can we get them now?" Adam broke in.

"Of course. Mira! We need to get these girls their marks." He called to the beautiful barmaid who appeared in an instant with what was necessary for the procedure. Actually, it just looked like a stamp. Adamine had expected a needle after what she had gone through as a child.

"Where do you want them?"

"I want mine over my eye. Exactly like how Adamine has her tattoo," Pearl barked out, astounding the brunette. "I shouldn't have ever betrayed you, Mina, so I want to put it there. That way, every day I will see it and repent."

Adamine couldn't say a word because Mira grinned widely. "What color?"

"Green because that's the color Adamine wears on her lacrima." Again, Pearl made a reference to the young woman she looked up to so much.

"Mina? Oh, can I call you that?"

Adamine looked uneasy about it. She rubbed the back of her neck then gave a shy nod. "Sure. Can I get a black one on the back of my neck? Ya know, to match Pearl's fur." She glanced down to the Hellhound who was grinning at the ground.

"Why in such a hidden spot?" Laxus wondered. He wanted it in an obvious place so Adamine would see it if she ever decided to run off on them again.

"Gatlin is still after me. Kalin got away. My kingdom's at war, and some day I'm going to lead the rebellion to make mages and mundanes equal. When I cross the border, I'll need it hidden so I don't get killed on sight," Adamine countered, standing toe to toe with the man who was sure to argue if she didn't give him a good reason.

Once they were marked, Bickslow jumped to snatch Adamine up. He was followed by an overeager Freed and Evergreen. Again, Makarov got caught up in the moment. Mira decided she would join the dogpile. Then, Natsu apparently got fired up. Lucy was pushed in by Happy who landed on Adamine's head. Pearl, after a moment of hesitation, decided she would latch onto Adamine's leg. It wasn't long until Erza, Gray, Juvia, Wendy, Jet, and Droy were in on the assault as well. Laxus wasn't going to join until Adamine snatched his un-expecting wrist and drug him in as well.

Out of the corner of Makarov's eye, he noticed the way Laxus cracked a smile as he was slung around with the group. He nudged Mira Jane then tossed his chin their way. After a silent agreement, the two knew it was time to start plotting.

Even with that romantic notion hanging in the air, the dogpile somehow turned into a brawl.

"Natsu, I will freeze your tongue to a light pole if you step on my foot one more time!"

"Oh, yeah, well, I'll melt you in a frying pan if you don't put some clothes on!"

"I'll electrocute the both of you by shoving your heads into an electrical outlet if you don't shut the hell up!"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Oh, yeah!"

A fist came flying, and Adamine laughed when she was somehow caught in the crossfire. A fist came barreling towards her forehead, but she looked at Evergreen who had pulled her glasses down her nose. Just the sight of Evergreen's Stone Eyes caused Adamine's scales to show up. Her assailant howled in pain while Adamine let out a laugh of sheer joy. Pearl grew into her Mortality Soul state and quickly got revenge on _The-Punk-Who-Thought-He-Could-Touch-Her-Mina_. Her black flaming fist sent Gray flying into the hallway.

"Well, if you want to bring magic into this, Ice Make Hammer!"

"Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!"

Adamine happily proclaimed, "Sacred Blade of the Adamantine Dragon!"

"Oh, Mavis, no, Adamine! Not in here!" the Raijinshuu howled in unison, but it was too late. Adamine's arm turned to a scimitar, Lancet weapon of choice. She let loose a powerful slash that cut clean through the exterior wall. It even took off some of Freed's hair on the way out.

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**Wow. I cannot believe that I only have the epilogue left to put up for y'all. Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting. I hope that the next story I post will be much more successful than this one, but I'm not going to let that get me down.**

**I have decided to write a prequel to this one, and I'll probably write a sequel to it as well.**

**The prequel will go over how Adamine met the Raijinshuu, and the sequel will go over the gang getting sent to Lancet to stop Gatlin from massacring the mages.**

**I hope you all read them because it will show character development in not only my OC, Adamine, but it will show you how I think the Raijinshuu and Laxus will grow throughout their lives.**

**The Raijinshuu is my favorite group, and Laxus is my favorite leader. I can't refrain from wanting to write about their younger selves.**

**Leave me reviews on opinions and ideas.**

**Ack! I swear, I do not know why my stuff comes up in italics. If you see that, please, point it out to me. It only does it on this story. ERGH!**


	31. Epilogue: Mating Habits

**Wow. I got a touch carried away with this chapter. Ah. I couldn't help it. Things start to go aflame, literally, in my epilogue.**

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Epilogue

Adamine walked to the guild early the next morning. For some reason the master had called her off to the side of the guild the previous day. He'd explained a few things like how they were going to have a formal celebration to apologize for sending Team Natsu after her, to rejoice about her recovery, and to congratulate her for joining Fairy Tail. He had said that it was a special celebration for her and Pearl, but then he had said something strange. He had requested for her to come to the guild before it everyone started to come in for the day and not to bring Pearl.

Originally, Adamine had tried to get him not to throw a party. She had thought that the uproar last night was a party enough. Black Pearl had even gotten in a drinking contest with Cana. She had come home drunk and stuck in her Mortality Soul. Apparently, transformations were hard to do when one wasn't sober. Adamine had gotten rather trashed herself. Bickslow and Freed had to walk her home with her singing sea shanties she'd learned from a pirate when she'd come on his ship to Fiore.

Bickslow had been inebriated himself, and they had sung the shanty of the _Drunken Sailor_. Once they had finally gotten home after receiving some questionable looks from the citizens of Fiore, Freed had snapped, "If I hear _Weigh-hay and up she rises _or _Put 'em in the scuppers with a hose pipe on him _one more time I will write so many runes on you that you will never be able to sing shanties again!" He had angrily threw his bedroom door shut then the two had heard him scribbling runes on his bedroom walls and door until they were sure he'd soundproofed it well enough that he wouldn't hear a bomb going off beside the house.

The two of them hadn't minded. She and Bickslow had continued to sing shanties and drink _Sailor Jerry_ rum until they had passed out. When she had woken up, Bickslow was somehow down to his underwear. He had one leg thrown up over the back of the couch and was sleeping happily with his head touching the floor and his torso half off the sofa.

Adamine hadn't been faring much better clothing wise. She'd stripped down to nothing but an oversized shirt of Bickslow's. Her head had been on his chest, and it looked like she had been the reason why he was half off the couch.

She had no idea that Bickslow knew so many sea shanties or that he had given her a shirt. Last night, at least what she remembered of it, had been amazing.

When she had gotten up this morning, she had seen Pearl tossed out on the Murphy bed. The woman had made a sleepy complaint when she heard Adamine getting ready to leave, but she was so far out that she hadn't gotten up to stop her. Adam was thankful that Black Pearl had cut loose for once. It allowed her to sneak out without a guardian.

Now, Adamine pushed open the front doors of Fairy Tail to see no one there. She scratched the back of her head and looked around. "Mira? Gramps? Is there anyone here?"

"Adamine?" a familiar voice called out to her, and she turned her head to see Laxus coming down the stairs. "What are you doing here so early?"

Adamine put her hands on her hips. "I could ask you the same thing. Mira and Master told me to come here early before everyone showed up. Have you seen them?" She glanced around again. No. Not a sign that anyone had even been here.

The whole place was spotless though. There wasn't a speck of dirt on the counter when Adamine walked there with Laxus leading the way. "I haven't seen 'em. Ya ate yet?" he wondered. He walked behind the counter of the bar to open up a fridge.

"No, I was worried if I made too much noise that Bix and Pearl would wake up. We stayed up all night—"

"Singing sea shanties and drinking rum?" Laxus snickered. When Adamine just laughed shyly into her fist, Laxus added, "Yeah. Freed was about ready to start smacking his head on the table. I swear you sung _Drunken Sailor_ about fifty times." He held up two glasses. "Water or smoothie?"

"Neither. Yogurt, please. Can I get some granola with it?"

"Granola? What are you, a horse?"

"Ha. No. I usually mix it and crushed diamonds into my yogurt," she explained. Usually, that would have been enough reason for someone to give her a weird look. Laxus just milled around until he found the two ingredients.

"Diamonds are hard to come by. You must be an expensive date," he teased and handed her the gemstones. "I don't have anything to break… them… with…" Adamine crushed them in one fist then sprinkled the sparkly dust in her yogurt. She did the same with the granola.

Adamine snickered at Laxus's comment. "I've never been on a date, Laxus. I wouldn't know what to do if someone liked me. Firmalione never explained to me the mating habits of humans. She always got flustered at the topic when I would point out people kissing or holding hands. She said that I was too young to be worried about such frivolous things. Besides, isn't kissing just something you do with somebody you love? Why does it have to be so complicated?"

Laxus paused for a moment then threw some bacon in a skillet. He'd fixed himself a beer and had it placed off to the side. "Never been kissed. Never been on a date. I figured Bix would have locked that up by now. Don't y'all have a thing?" he questioned.

"A thing? I don't think so. I know he likes me a lot, but so do Freed and Evergreen. You like me a lot as well. Even though you aren't as physical as the Raijinshuu, I know you have a kind heart. You always have." She took a crunchy bite of yogurt after leaning over the counter to fish around for a spoon. "You gunna make biscuits?"

Laxus snorted, "What am I? Your chef?" Even as he complained, he took a step away from the skillet to pull out some dough that had been premade. The woman could talk him into anything. "Wait. When you say biscuits do you mean those weird bread things Lancet people eat or do you mean cookies?"

Adamine bowed her head against her spoon. Dang it. She should have known. "I meant the weird bread things. I could really go for a buttermilk biscuit soaked in white gravy with bacon all crispy on top." She looked to be having a foodgasm before Laxus did another snort laugh. It was a short but amused _Tch_ sound that Adamine always attributed to his cocky self trying to look tough. When she heard it, she knew it meant someone had made him smile even for a moment.

"I tell ya what, I'll learn to make whatever it is you just had a foodgasm over if you kiss me," Laxus bartered. He raised a blonde brow then hissed a curse when bacon grease leaped onto his hand. "Shit. Shit. Shit. I hate it when it does that."

Adamine snickered this time, and she gave a grin. "Alright. It's a deal. But, it isn't because we have _thing_ as you called it. Is it?"

He gave a short nod but kept his back to her. She would have never expected him to be a cook but as she watched him, she realized that he seemed to enjoy this trivial task of making things edible.

"What is a thing exactly?" Adamine wondered. She had never been taught about romance, and it looked like right now she had a teacher. She wanted to know everything. People in love always looked stupid but happy. Adamine wanted to feel that way. It looked pleasant.

Laxus put the "biscuits", which were _so_ not biscuits in her opinion, in the oven then used tongs to put the strips of delicious bacon onto a paper towel covered plate. Once he'd finished that task, he turned back around to her. Leaning on the opposing counter, he straightened his arms out on it, unintentionally making his powerful body look even bigger.

Again, she felt that weird girlie feeling inside of her like she got with Bickslow. She knew that both men were attractive, but they were attractive in their own ways. Laxus had this arrogance that made women around him swoon. Bickslow just didn't care, and that effortlessness made women check him out even with all that armor on. Even Freed had a look that made women get silly. She had been with the group of men before and had heard whispers about her coming from their lips.

"She's so lucky."

"I bet she's a slut."

"You're so hateful."

"Am not. Really? How many women do you see walking around with three guys like that?"

"You… you do have a point…"

They seemed to think that Adamine had a thing with the men. Adamine knew what was perverted, and she knew the way that people were supposed to act when they got caught in a romantic situation. You were supposed to fling off the person you were with and proclaim that whatever you were doing was not what it looked like. That's what she'd seen, and that's what people always did.

She just didn't get it. If people liked each other enough to be that close, then why would they say it wasn't what it looked like when it so clearly was? Also, people had a term for a woman who hung around with a few good looking guys. She was titled a slut, but that was a bad thing because she enjoyed to be in the presence of men. For some reason having too many male friends was bad. Ugh. She would never understand normal people. They were weird.

Laxus brought her back down to Earthland when he finally opened his mouth. He grumbled, "Never thought I'd have to give the birds and the bees to a girl three years younger than me." After another moment, he explained, "A thing is when two people want a physical relationship with each other. Uh… You saw Alzack and Bisca the other night before you got trashed. Right?" She nodded. "Well, they have a thing, but their thing is called a marriage. There's… levels of a _thing_… There's just a platonic physical relationship with no strings. Then, dating, engagement, and marriage. Usually, a thing is called dating…" He looked very uncomfortable while discussing this. Adamine wondered why.

She put her hand on Laxus's to get him to keep going. He gave her a raised eyebrow then gave a smirk. Yeah, Adamine was pretty ignorant, but she didn't want to stay that way.

She asked, "What's sex? I always hear that when people talk about a physical relationship."

"Sex? That's easy. It's when a guy puts his…" He paused. Should he really give this innocent girl the most basic and honestly boring explanation of sex or should he play it up a bit like most people did when they wanted their kids to stay virgins? With an inward sigh, he thought of all the guys that would want to take Adamine's V card. As a matter of fact, he was one of them. The thought of letting her go without locking that up didn't settle right with him. Playing it up it was.

Laxus corrected, "Sex is something that two people do when they love each other." Gah. He felt like a pansy having to explain it like this. "It makes them feel like they're really one with their partner."

Adamine shook her head. "Laxus, that's what my mom told me when I lived in the cave with her. What do you do during sex that makes it so full of oneness and love?"

Now, Laxus looked surprised. She wanted the nitty gritty details. He gave an almost wicked grin and leaned in. "That's what you are going to have to find out for yourself with the right guy."

Again, Adamine didn't look impressed. "How about you? I just want to know about it. There's only so much you can understand from books. Actual physical interpretation is much more educational."

Laxus could have stammered out his words at that point. He hadn't expected her to so blatantly throw that out on the table. The woman really didn't care anything about her virginity. Well, he supposed it made sense. She lived in a castle until she was five. She got kidnapped by freaks then lived with a dragon. She didn't have anyone there to tell her how precious it was supposed to be. She only knew the base and logical side of things without frilly details.

He was saved from having to answer that question when the timer went off on the cookies/biscuits. "How about we stick to the kissing first then go into that later?"

"When are you going to kiss me then?" she wondered. Her asking that while licking the spoon clean of the last bits of smoothie nearly made Laxus want to do it to her right then and there, but he withheld. Somehow. Damn. He never knew he had such good self-control.

The aroma of sugar cookies filled the air, and Adamine was having another foodgasm while sucking on the spoon. Ack. She was really screwing with his head right now. She'd practically asked him to fuck her then was doing all these suggestive things that made his groin tense up.

Laxus sat the cookies down on top of the stove then picked one up. With the way Adamine was looking at it, somebody could have thought he was holding un-smelted gold. Just to tease the girl he'd secretly been gunning for these past few years, Laxus took a bite of the way too hot cookie. He'd heal shortly, so it wasn't that bad. A dragon slayer could handle a hot cookie.

"You gunna share that?" Adamine pouted. Ah. This was her weakness. Amongst the many odd weaknesses she had like missing deadlines, bugs that had wings, clowns, and people who wouldn't share their crayons, she also had a weakness for food. It was a good thing he enjoyed cooking.

Laxus took another slow, savory bite of the cookie. He was exaggerating the enjoyment of the scalding piece of doughy goodness, but the look on Adamine's face was so worth it. "I dunno, Mina. What are you gunna do if I don't?"

"I'm going to reach over this counter and steal it from you," she said, mesmerized by the sweet aroma in the air. When Laxus moved the cookie, her eyes followed it like a hawk.

"What if I feed it to you?" He really didn't know why he was teasing her this bad, but he did know that it felt good. Something about the way she stared while dabbing her tongue to her bottom lip was a tease of its own. It was only right for him to torture her the way she unintentionally tortured him and Bix.

As long as Adamine didn't regard his friend in the romantic sense, he didn't see any reason not to mess with her. Besides, Bickslow had plenty of chances to educate Adamine. He just had never taken advantage of the situation.

Freed and Evergreen could see the obvious attraction Bix felt for the girl, so they encouraged it. Laxus kept his thoughts locked up tight. It wasn't like him to flaunt his feelings. Bickslow on the other hand didn't care. Besides, Evergreen saw him with Mira. Laxus didn't know where she had gotten that idea from, but she had. Mira was beautiful and wonderful, but she acted a bit too… ditzy on occasions. He knew she did it on purpose though... He loved the barmaid, found her sexy as hell, but she just had those turn off moments.

"Then I'd eat it. Duh. What else would happen?" Adamine snapped, breaking him from his train of thought. "So, you gunna give me the cookie." A glint flashed in her eye. "Or, am I gunna have to take it by force?" Damn. He could almost forget she was saying cookie with these comments. Damn. He really was sexualizing a cookie.

Laxus shook his head and gave in. She was about to reach for the cookie when he handed it her way, but he pulled back. "Na. I'm gunna feed it to you."

"Tch. I'm not a baby, Laxus. I can feed myself."

"Do you want to learn about sex or what?" She raised a brow then nodded. "Then, you need to learn that I have the upper hand here."

"Why is that?"

"I have something you want, and you're ready to do anything you can to get it. But, there are rules. My rules. You have to wait for me to give it to you." He let the cookie get closer to her lips.

"I can see how this could be a dominance game," she examined with her ever intelligent brain. The words would have been an easy turn off if it wasn't for the sensual look she was giving the cookie. "May I please have the cookie, Laxus?" she pleaded.

He felt himself melting into a boiling pot of masculine hormones. She had no idea that her words were perfect for this situation. Instead of giving a response, he watched her sink her sharp teeth into the dough that had cooled to an edible temperature by this point. It was still soft and hot, but it was perfect to swallow. Ah, Mavis, he needed to stop else he was going to give himself a pun to her adamantine body.

Her look of utter pleasure once she'd gotten a bite of the cookie made it all worth it, but when he saw a crumb on the corner of her lips, he couldn't resist. Laxus leaned in and licked it off. Their eyes met, and something just clicked. There was no other way to describe it.

Desserts forgotten, Laxus hefted Adamine's body up from the barstool to sit her down on the counter. She was going to ask what was going on, but he cut her off with his soft lips. He wrapped one arm around her slender waist, feeling all those tight muscles flexing against his body, and he let the other completely cradle the back of her head. All smashed together like this, Laxus could realize just how tiny she was.

It was a position similar to this that he had thrust electrical energy throughout her body. He'd had to at the time, but it didn't mean that he liked that he had to do it. Even though she didn't remember it, he kissed her with a passion that would have led them to forgiveness.

After a moment of initial shock, Adamine's little claws sunk into his neck. She clung to him as if for life. They were two bodies in a stormy ocean, and he was the shore she sought for survival.

He kissed her with the hard brutality of long denied passion, and she reacted like a natural. After the awkwardness of adjusting to teeth clattering, Adamine turned herself into a pro. Just like he knew she would.

Adamine's ever curious tongue slipped out of its own accord, and she realized that made the experience even more intriguing. With her shocked gasp, he gave a sly grin. His plan had worked far, far better than he had thought it would. He'd imagined kissing her over and over again. Reality was far better than anything he could have imagined.

His teeth nibbled on her bottom lip, and she clutched him tighter. Her hands moved from his neck to run her claws through his blonde hair. The sudden feeling of sheer pleasure made Laxus's control slip, and he felt his lightning spark around his body.

He was about to slow down, but it didn't look to be deterring Adamine. She was having a magical reaction of her own. The hands that clutched him turned to adamantine, and she wrapped her legs around his waist to trap him against her. Mavis, she was a sexy piece.

Laxus's teasing hands trailed lightly up her waistline before he smelled… burning. Burning? What could be burning? Oh! Shit! He'd forgotten to turn off the oven! Roughly, Laxus broke away. The disappointed look in Adamine's eyes almost made him say, "Fuck it" and go back to getting hot and heavy with the piece of raw adamant he had in his paws, but the thought of demon Mira Jane and oversized giant Makarov coming to kill him for burning down the guild forced his attention to the matter at hand.

"Why are you…" Adamine suddenly sniffed then released her claws from Laxus's skull. "L-L-Laxus, I-I don't think ovens are supposed to do that."

Laxus cursed and grabbed a dishtowel from the counter. "Where's Flame Retardant and Water Stalker when you need them?" he barked and cursed as he smothered the flames out. Once that was taken care of Laxus ran his hands through his hair. "Sorry, Mina. I was being stupid. Got too caught up in the moment, and… Mina?" Laxus tilted his head when he saw the darkened guild was short one Adamantine Dragon Slayer siting pretty on the countertop. "Oi! Mina, you get gun shy or had to go piss?" He jumped over the counter.

The guild was dark as it should be for five in the morning. Laxus was going to go search for the sensual piece of jewel when he felt something smack him upside the head. Suddenly unconscious, Laxus fell forward to the floor.

"Project Matchmaker: Laxus and Adamine is underway, master," a masked woman stated. She pulled her black mask off of her face to reveal white locks then gave a thumbs up to a short, older man who was sporting the same all black attire. She leaned down to pick up a smaller woman who was as equally unconscious as Laxus then heaved her over her shoulder. "Do you have the train tickets?"

The short man held them up. He asked, "What did you hit him with? I've never seen Laxus go down that easy."

Mira flipped a handy wrought iron skillet in her hands, catching it by the handle each time. "The only one Gajeel hasn't ate yet. Now, let's get them on that train_."_

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***Note* So, I know how I'm going to write the Love Triangle now. It's going to be Team Mira and Makarov versus Team Evergreen and Freed. I call them Team Makira Versus Team Everfreed. Of course, Team Makira will be on Laxus's side while Team Everfreed will be on Bickslow's side. Will the teams find out about who's pinning for who and there be a showdown, or will my secret cupids never be found out? Ack! This seems so lovely. I gave up on trying to add Freed to the mix. He's going to be a cheerleader but this time not for Laxus. O_o Surprise. Surprise.**

**Also, this story might be continued, but that's only if you want me to. I'll have it in a separate story and title.**


	32. Magical Massacre

**Hey, everyone! I got some comments on whether or not I should write a prequel and sequel to Tablet and a Tome. Well, guess what! I've got the first chapter to the sequel up. It will be titled Magical Massacre.**

**I have yet to write the prequel, but I will do that as well.**

**Here are some details on Magical Massacre and an excerpt.**

**Also, here is some information about seeing what my characters look like. I want you to go to and look up AdamineTerra. I have Adamine and Isaac up there.**

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Prologue

_Kingdom of Lancet_

_House of Thorns_

His forehead leaned against the window as he stared down at the piece of parchment between his fingers. The coolness of the glass kissed his skull, and he couldn't believe it. It couldn't be true. Had it been anyone else he would have laughed, but it wasn't anyone else. It was her, the woman he held dearest in his shadowy heart.

His pale hand laid flat against the cold window in his office. As he gritted his teeth he tried to think of better things, happier things, but he just couldn't do it.

The order had been sent out. Her life was in danger. Those bastards were at it again, and he was the only one who could stop them.

He'd tried to keep her safe. He'd been the one to send her away to Fiore after he'd finally found her. After all those years of keeping a silent vigil over her life, his hand was about to be forced. He was forced to make a decision. Her life or his throne.

Isaac let loose a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding then pulled himself away from the window. It was time for change. It was time to end this senseless slaughter.

The last of the Lancet household stepped to his desk and pulled out the mask he'd kept stowed away just for this kind off occasion. His most trusted guard, his confidant, turned from his position at the door to look at his master. "Is it time Sir. Isaac?"

The black mask that only covered one eye and the majority of Isaac's face melded to his skin. Isaac gave a short nod of his head. "It is time, Urian."

Isaac took out the elegant cloak from a sliding wall in the back of his closet. Once he'd secured the article of clothing with a black alexandrite, he motioned for his guard to follow him. "Secure the room," Isaac explained. "I want no one to know of our disappearance. Is my regent in place?"

Urian looked up from the crystal orb in his hand then nodded. Once he'd placed a rune on the door, he followed his master out the secret escape.

This was the only house in all of nobility that held mages. It was the only nobleman's house that was connected to the Magic Railroad, a secret passageway that consisted of homes, tunnels, docks, and wagons to sneak mages out of the country and to freedom.

There was so much strife and infighting in the kingdom of Lancet, a kingdom where mages were hunted down like common quarry. Isaac had been the only nobleman permitted to know anything about the Magic Railroad, and there was a reason for that. He was the only mage in nobility. It was his and a certain woman's destiny to liberate the country from the Magical Massacre that had been going on since he was born. Tonight, it seemed liberation would begin.

Now, to cross the ocean…

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**Magical Massacre will be held in Fiore, of course. It goes on to explain the governmental, don't let that word turn you off it's not all political, issues of Lancet. It discusses the east and west division of Lancet and the Magical Railway which is a play on the Underground Railroad. I hope you all find my real life historical references.**

**The main character is still Adamine, and I have turned my love triangle into a love square with the addition of Isaac Grigori Von Kaiser. Now, if that name doesn't sound sexy then I'm sorry to disappoint. Phew!**

**I know that in Tablet and a Tome Isaac is Adamine's cousin, but they are not blood related, for those of you who have captured that bit of information. I also introduce another cousin of Adamine's. His name is Urian Lancet and is the half-brother of Isaac Von Kaiser.**

**Here are details over Isaac and Urian**

**Isaac- Shadow Demon Slayer**

***When his family was slaughtered by a demon, said demon kidnapped him and raised him in the wild. Years later, Isaac is sent by the demon to become the king of Lancet.***

**Urian- Ice God Slayer**

***The day that the demon slaughtered Isaac's family and left Urian to die, he was visited by the trickster god Loki. Seeing the carnage the demon left behind and the untouched babe, Loki decided to take Urian under his wing. Urian is later found by the army when Loki kicks him out of their mountaintop home.***

**The story goes over how Gatlin has sent men to capture Adamine. Isaac is sent this information by Hisui when she is told strange men have infiltrated the kingdom of Fiore. He decides to leave Lancet in order to protect the woman whose life he has always guarded.**

**The Raijinshuu, Adamine, Isaac, Laxus, and Urian will be the stars of this upcoming story.**

**I hope that you enjoy. Comment on what you think I should do within the story, and if you have any questions, please tell me. I will post information on the Prequel later on.**

**Here's my favorite quote.**

**"Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end, but not necessarily in that order."**

**You will see that with my writing, that quote is very, very true.**


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